Axel Schultheiss    Departure  Acoustic Music Records

Axel Schultheiss is a German acoustic guitarist which with
Departure now has his third album just released on Acoustic
Music Records. Axel is a very creative acoustic guitarist, who
uses electronic equipment, to create fascinating landscapes
with his guitar. With loops, dubbing and delays he knows to
create musical, eruptive and sensitive compositions. With
rhythmic melodic patterns he often creates a sound, which
is close leaning to the New Age music. As you listen to the
whole album Departure  you constantly feel you are on a
musical journey in fascinating landscapes. Sometimes you
think you hear a whole orchestra is playing and you are
constantly crossing borders in framed pictures. Axel his
guitar technique makes him able to create as well Spanish
as classic or bluesy sounds. His guitar sounds refreshing
and yet warm with a light sound. The Secret is a composition
with deep basses on a melodic repeating pattern. Snowland  
is a very intimate reflective composition, which leads to a nice
calm feeling on melancholic music. Resuming you can say
Axel Schultheiss captures the listener in 8 refreshing pieces
in beautiful sceneries. Axel Schultheiss album will certainly
attract the pure acoustic player as the New Age music lover
and certainly creative guitarists. This album Departure will
surely impress any music lover.

Henk te Veldhuis.
Bridge Guitar Reviews

Bridge Guitar Reviews
            Reviews

Gert de Meijer - Acoustickled - 2002 - Acoustic Music Records.

Gert de Meijer 's first album Behind the Dunes was a great
success. Now two years later he has already released his
second album called Acoustickled. Gert's guitar playing style
shows influences of Leo Kottke and some of Michael Hedges,
but his music is never as dark as Hedges his music. He has
created his own style which has unique elements.The whole
atmosphere on the album is rather relaxed and real calming.
Air and Sea reflects a lot of percussive elements and has a
nice melody. Cross the River is a very intimate composition
which is well done. Fahey's Retreat shows his admiration
for John Fahey.Your in My Veins is one of my favorites, just
as Time Stealing as here he shows his best compositions
in attractive melodies. Gert de Meijer has a unique approach
to fingerstyle guitar, and even Leo Kottke praised him for his
music, and Kottke knows something about acoustic guitar
playing. This album is unique piece of art.

Henk te Veldhuis
Bridge Guitar Reviews.

Olaf Tarenskeen  -  Missing Link - with  Acoustic Trio.
Dessa Music TEKVND-102

Olaf Tarenskeen, is a superb nylon string guitarist from Holland
who won the national  jazz award called "The Wessel Ilcken Prize".
Since than he really played with a lot of famous people like Kevin
Eubanks. Earlier on he released two solo guitar albums "Decisions"
and "Human Download", at Acoustic Music Records, which gave him
a lot of excellent reviews. Now his new album "Missing Link" is out
on which he plays in an acoustic trio setting with a very well known
double bass player Harry Emmery and percussionist/drummer
Joshua Samson. The title track "Missing Link" has a very nice
intimate setting with additional keyboard, which reminds one of
the best guitar ballads of Al Di Meola. On "I hear a Bossa" you
hear Olaf Tarenskeen's ability to create great melody lines and
he really can improvise in a great way on a musical theme.
"Chinese Melody" a work with an enormous lot of emotion and
great balance between him and his bassist and percussionist
and keyboard player. "End of the Puzzle" is one of my favorites,
you hear Olaf's great way to create intimate moods in imaginary
landscapes created with softness, balance, great technique and
expression which goes under your skin, the interaction with his
bassist and percussionist are fabulous and with depth, the
percussive thumbing technique of his bassist Harry Emmery
is great and the string quartet gives this piece  extra dimension.
"Yesterday's History" has  influences from Jan Akkerman's
best ballads he made together with Focus. Also typical Al Di
Meola influences, but what the best of this album is that Olaf
Tarenskeen and his trio knows to absorb you in their sublime
dynamic compositions, with balance between expression and
fine guitar techniques in a nice melancholic scenery. He certainly
belongs to the great composers and players like Al Di Meola.

Henk te Veldhuis.
Bridge Guitar Reviews.

Pierre Bensusan Intuite 2002   Acoustic Music Records.

Pierre Bensusan is a world famous guitar player who mainly writes
his guitar music In DADGAD open tunings. Therefore he knows to
create a musical atmosphere , that is different than the average
fingerstyle guitarists, although now plenty guitarists play in open
tunings. But if you hear Pierre playing you forget about open tunings
and open your heart for his creative playing and you will not hear he
is playing not in standard tuning. Pierre does not focus on his tunings,
but mainly on strong melodies and perfect compositions, which are
full of techniques and touch different styles,as jazz, folk, fingerstyle,
classic and alternate music. His first track on Intuite is called
Kadourimdou which has jazzy feelings and a strong melody line.
The Welsh Arrow shows his ability to play folk and Irish music.
So Long Michael is a tribute to the late Michael Hedges which
name is a standard in acoustic guitar music. You hear some
minor influences of Hedges as Bensusan does his own music
with blended melodies and melancholic settings. La Hora
Espanola has Spanish influences but has a typical Bensusan
sound, with classic references in jazzy landscapes. Silent Partner
is the last track of this album, and shows his ability to write music
without borders. Intuite, Pierre Bensusan's first acoustic solo album  
can be compared to the taste of a glass from the best French wines.

Henk te Veldhuis
Bridge Guitar Reviews.

Kevin Cardamore, Steel Strings 2003

Kevin Cardamore,  is certainly a name you would not at first sight
associate with guitarists like Don Ross, yet Don Ross produced
and mixed this album of this very talented guitarist from Ontario,
Canada. Kevin Cardamore compositions on his warm sounding
Lowden O-12 are revealing a lot of great techniques and certainly
melancholic, yet never dark moods. All his compositions sound
very relaxed and Kevin knows to capture a listener with very original
melodies which warms human's inner space. In his 14 pieces on
Steel Strings, Without A Song and Satin Finish are surely some
of my personal favorites, as these songs create a lot of interaction
with the artist. Machine and Gods and Shelter of the Heart call
some memories of Don Ross his best work. Kevin Cardamore
has developed a unique own style which sets him between the
best guitarists of the world.

Henk te Veldhuis.
Bridge Guitar Reviews

Peter Huttlinger     Naked Pop   2002
Favored Nations Acoustic    FNA5010-2

Peter Huttlinger, born in Washington is now living in Nashville
studied guitar at Berklee College of Music. He was a guitarist in
John Denver's band, but he played also as a featured artist with
the San Diego and Houston symphonies and is a favorite guest
artist of theNashville Chamber Orchestra. He recently joined Steve
Vai founded label at Favored Nations Acoustic. Naked Pop is a
breathtaking instrumental showcase of original compositions,
traditional fare and songs made famous by the Beatles, Sting,
Judy Garland, Steely Dan, the Allman Brothers Band and Stevie
Wonder. The first track on Naked Pop is a composition of Peter
Huttlinger himself, Brown Bomber, which shows his dazzling
guitar solo's and great technique. Monahadan Jig is a arranged
traditional with a very nice chord and arpeggio structure in a nice
melody line. Josie an arrangement of Donald Fagen of Steely
Dan. Yet Peter makes in his own unique style a new work of
Josie, he uses very dynamic rhythmic patterns and a staccato
playing style fingerpicking patterns and so he makes a new
own creation of this song with technical playing capabilities.
Little Martha written by Duan Allman of the great Allman Brothers
Band is rewritten by Peter in a very attractive and percussive way.
On Over The Rainbow Peter makes a very jazzy arrangement of
this well known “classic” song with his percussive way of playing.
One of my favorites is Overjoyed where Peter establishes to create
an intimate sphere, with flageolets and nice chord chances. Fields
of Gold a Sting song is completely rearranged in Peter his unique
guitar style. Elanor Rigby is also a favorite of me, as Peter uses
so much several guitar techniques to make this song in a very
percussive way and  artificial harmonics to his own masterpiece.
Peter Huttlinger has made on Naked Pop a truly new superb
approach to pop and rock songs.

Henk te Veldhuis
Bridge Guitar Reviews.

Philippe Fouquet - Ouvrir - Big Sky Music -2003

Philippe Fouquet is a French guitarist and he just released
his first album “Ouvrir”. Fouquet has his roots from music
like Marcel Dadi, John Renbourn and Pierre Bensusan.
His music sounds like poetry and he knows to touch the
listener. The first track of “Ouvrir” is called Fenêtre” which
shows his classical techniques and Baroque playing abilities.
“The Blue Dreamer” is a beautiful composition with overtones
and shows his ability to create a melody and compose in well
structured melodies, this track has a typical Hedges intimate
style. “L 'Indicible” moves you in a well balanced melody.
“Triptyque” is a composition with nice arpeggios in an Irish
ambiance. “Prelude Hirondelle” has fantastic classic influences
but Philippe just makes more than only classic music, he has a
lyrical approach. ”On The Morning Walk” he really creates a
neoclassical sphere with typical modern fingerstyle ingredients,
he has many moods in his melodies. Philippe Fouquet is a really
versatile guitarist, he has so many techniques, playing styles and
he knows to capture the listener from the begin to the end of the
album in passionate melodies.

Henk te Veldhuis
Bridge Guitar Reviews.

Clarelynn Rose - Elegant Tern - Self Released 2003

Clarelynn Rose is a self-taught guitarist and forester from
Mendocino County, California in the USA. She has released
her second album now, which is called Elegant Tern. She
plays fingerstyle guitar with associations to John Renbourn,
and Alex de Grassi who helped her a lot. Her guitar playing
has a very intimate atmosphere which has a relaxing effect.
She plays 11 tracks in 8 varied open tunings. Very special is
that Clarelynn manages to make her compositions so good
you forget she does play in so many open tunings, yet only
guitarists like Pierre Bensusan managed to be so complete
that the music and compositions does not matter that much,
as she is able to concentrate fully on her guitar playing. Her
techniques, like balance, punctuation and melody building
aresuperb. There is only one traditional arranged work on this
album "Monk's Gate /I saw Three Ships”. Clarelynn knows to
create her unique own style in intimate settings which paint
beautiful landscapes in your mind. Most off her compositions
are concentrated on Folk music. My favorites are “Elegant
Tern”, “Sound of Thunderclouds” and “Damnation Trail” as
they have a deep spiritual feeling with a melancholic character
in nice melody building and perfect balance in the melody
lines.The recording by “Laughing Coyote Studio” is excellent.
Clarelynn Rose has managed to make an exceptional album,
as “Elegant Tern” is as well an album for the pure fingerstyle
guitarist as people who like Folk music with a  touch of New
Age Music. Clarelynn Rose is a very inspirable acoustic
guitarist.

Henk te Veldhuis
Bridge Reviews.