Southwest

"Southwest" is guitarist Eric Tingstad’s 2006 Grammy-nominated album. Sorry I’m so late to the party with this one, but after becoming completely enchanted with Tingstad’s newest release, "Mississippi," and recently hosting him in a house concert here on the Oregon Coast, I decided I needed to backtrack to see what I had missed. It’s a huge understatement to say that I was NOT disappointed! I recently took a car trip of nine hours each way, and although I took a full tote bag of CDs with me, "Southwest" and Tingstad’s more recent "Badlands" stayed in the CD player the whole trip. The music is relaxing on some tracks, lively and upbeat on others - a fascinating and addicting combination of music that could have found its beginnings only in the American Southwest. There are strong country influences, but without lyrics, the music seems so much more profound - and profoundly beautiful. Tingstad honors our unique American musical heritage by preserving traditions yet taking them a step farther into original contemporary music. Tingstad wrote all nine tracks on "Southwest" and performs on a variety of guitars. Guest artists include Terry Lauber (pedal steel), Nancy Rumbel (oboe and English horn), Gary Stroutsos (native flutes), and David Lanz (piano). Together they have assembled an inspiring as well as entertaining album that should be a timeless entry into the realm of Americana music. Much has been written about "Southwest" over the past several years, but since it is a recent discovery for me, I wanted to add my two cents and perhaps bring some new attention to the music. Very highly recommended!

When I first listened to this album I instantly ended up in a Grand Canyon setting, in my mind of course. Eric's music provided insight, helping me solve problems and putting me in the right state of mind. I really recommend this album, it's a great buy.

This gets me in the mood! Great stuff and excellent song writing. Definitely worth buying.

Southwest is a masterpiece.

When one thinks of “new age” music, the sounds of pedal steel guitar, accordion, and country-and-western beats are not usually what come to mind. But these are among the sounds that can be found on Eric Tingstad's Southwest. In his first solo release in over 10 years, the Grammy winning fingerstyle guitarist pays homage to the mix of cultures of the Great American Desert, artfully mixing the native inspired chanting of Petra Stahl and the native flutes of Gary Stroutsos with the instrumentation and milieu of country-and-western music. John Diliberto, host of the public radio program Echoes, dubs Tingstad’s Southwest “ambient Americana.” Says Diliberto: "Tingstad has taken a country sound, touched it with his chamber music aesthetic, and added just enough trail dust to make it earthy and real."

Eric is a master acoustic guitarist- there are few people with his skill and range. Tingstad and Rumbel have over 15 CD's with the classic interplay of guitar and wind instruments ( and others) that capture various traditions- acoustic, Irish, Celtic, Latin, Native American, folk, the Far East, and even pop music. No one better to give us the evocative sounds and melodies of the American Southwest. Each song has something different- capturing a sense of the desert, the mountains, spiritual longings, native culture and language- you get the idea a must buy for anyone who appreciates rich music traditions- I am waiting for Eric to pick up an electric guitar next- and rock out.. that will be a treat stags