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The liner notes may say no overdubs or loops were used, but Jonathan Kreisberg m

ight just as easily have included that "No guitars were harmed in the making of
ONE." Beyond work with artists like vibraphonist Joe Locke on Sticks and Strings
(Music Eyes, 2007) and organist Dr. Lonnie Smith on Spiral (Palmetto, 2010), th
e guitarist has slowly built a personal discography that includes the particular
ly impressive The South of Everywhere (Mel Bay, 2007) and Shadowless (New for No
w, 2011). Kreisberg may come from a progressive rock background but has, over th
e past fifteen years, evolved into a virtuoso guitarist who, nevertheless, never
substitutes style for substance.
Still, it's a ballsy move to turn to that most exposed of contexts the solo recita
l and to do so without the looping and overdubbing so often used to allow others a
ccess to more expansive sound worlds. ONE covers considerable territory with not
hing more than one man, one guitar and, on a couple tracks, some effects to broa
den Kreisberg's palette.
It's hard not to think of seminal solo guitar innovator Joe Pass on Kreisberg's
bright take on Juan Tizol's "Caravan," and a set-defining, similarly acoustic lo
ok at saxophonist Wayne Shorter's "E.S.P." that combines high-velocity, cascadin
g phrases with ethereal abstractions, only to resolve into an unexpectedly Latin
-esque main section. Kreisberg's language is, however, more modernistic, and her
e and throughout the album Kreisberg creates an impression of multiple guitarists by
combining instrumental mastery with sleight-of-hand, effortlessly moving betwee
n bass, chordal and melodic roles to simultaneously imply all three.
Kreisberg resorts to a clean, warm, hollowbody electric tone on Baden Powell/Vin
icius De Moraes's classic "Canto De Ossanha" one of a number of ONE's covers that
have been recorded almost ad nauseum, but which Kreisberg makes his own through
distinctive arrangements and melodic invention. Kreisberg nails Leonard Cohen's
often-covered "Hallelujah," combining respect and irreverence as, in an extended
coda, he layers dissonances that, nevertheless, remain completely in context Cohe
n's melody lines are largely intact but moved a half step or three away from the
tune's harmonic center, their tension finally resolved as Kreisberg returns to
consonance to finish the tune with some impressive finger-picking.
Kreisberg kicks in more overt effects on ONE's two originals. On the serpentine
"Without Shadow," his guitar sounds more like an organ," while on the dark- hued
"Escape From Lower Formant Shift," Kreisberg's heavily overdriven tone harkens
back to his pre-jazz days. But in a set that also includes other chestnuts like
"Skylark" and "Summertime," Kreisberg's originals serve notice of his broader co
ncerns.
Kreisberg may love standards like "Tenderly" and "My Favorite Things," but what
he does with them is never less than thoroughly contemporary. ONE may be 46 minu
tes of one man, one guitar, but in Kreisberg's hands it becomes a master class i
n just how unlimited that seemingly reductionist context can be. Truly solo jazz
guitar recordings are few and far between, but with ONE, Kreisberg not only pay
s homage to past masters like Pass, George Van Eps and Lenny Breau, he makes cle
ar that here, in the new millennium, he's unequivocally worthy of being mentione
d in the same breath.

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