Out of the Darkness

Bob Sneider may not be widely known, but he's developed one of the most refreshingly original jazz guitar styles you're likely to hear. On this, his second release (following 1998's Introducing Bob Sneider), he displays a woody, acoustic tone reminiscent of Jim Hall, Martin Taylor, and John Pizzarelli. He possesses tremendous technical facility and a truly inventive vocabulary — odd intervallic combinations, timbres, and turns of phrase crop up everywhere, all in the service of an impeccable lyricism. Sneider employs a number of ensemble formats throughout the album: standard guitar trio, jazz quintet, string quartet, and, most unusually, guitar/percussion duo. And for even more sonic variety, he's heard on both electric and nylon-string acoustic guitar. While "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" suffers from a slightly overblown arrangement and "If I Had You" never quite takes off, the remaining tracks are brilliant — not least of all Sneider's three fine originals. The enhanced CD includes a video clip of Sneider and his quintet performing Kenny Burrell's "Lyresto." ~ David R. Adler, Rovi