David Pritchard: Unassigned Territory

The CD cover labels this "ambient multiple acoustic guitars," and that sums this CD up pretty accurately. The songs on this program feature varying combinations of one to four guitars (always including Pritchard), occasionally adorned with female voice. Since this review appears on a web site that is devoted to jazz, let me state that this is not jazz. (I'm on Zebra's promo list, and much of Zebra's main catalog is good contemporary jazz.) It's a bit more new agey - again, "ambient" music is a good description. The tunes consist of various shifting guitar arpeggios and strumming patterns. There's no melody to speak of, the songs progress through a sequence of chord changes and variances in the patterns. It's ideally suited for background music in an arts and crafts or candle shop; sort of a pleasing acoustic guitar white noise. It's good if you like this sort of thing; the players perform well, and the multiple-guitar pieces feature intricate arrangements. (Zebra Acoustic ZA 44404)

Tracks:Driven; The Language Instinct; Stairs; The World in the Evening; Brazil; Just One Look; Unassigned Territory; Trophic Cascade; Maps of a Different Color; She Dreams; Pentimento; China. (52:09)