Natural Selection... A Sampler

Natural Selection... A Sampler

Various Artists

Zebra Acoustic Records, 1998

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 06/23/1999

As much as I love good old American rock and roll, there's apart of me that sometimes longs to get away from the volume,shouting and electric guitars. I think that's what first got meinterested in things like classical music, the Narada record labelin the '80s and - God help us - new age music, from time to time.When you really need a few moments to yourself, there is honestlynothing like hearing a song with hints of Celtic music, a goodpiano solo piece or Beethoven's Sixth Symphony.

One label I find myself going to more and more is ZebraAcoustic, an offshoot of the jazz/fusion label Zebra. We've alreadyreviewed a few of their artists, David Pritchard and PierreBensusan. Now, for those who might be interested in some of thethings they've read about these artists and who might not be readyto sit through an entire album out of fear of the unknown, there'shelp in the form of Natural Selection... A Sampler.

Featuring two tracks from seven of the label's releases, thisdisc covers the spectrum of acoustic music quite well, and servesas a very nice smorgasbord of all their delicacies. Sure, there maybe one or two that you're not fond of, but two tracks isn't thatmuch of an investment of time.

Bensusan gets the most coverage with two tracks from his careerretrospective Nice Feeling (which we reviewed here a few weeks ago) andpaired with flutist Didier Malherbe on Live In Paris. The two selections from Nice Feeling, "4 a.m." and the title track, show theabsolute mastery that the French-born fingerstyle guitarist haswith his instrument. Anyone who is a lover of solid guitar workwill be hooked by these two tracks. (I'll get back to Bensusan injust a moment.)