Salvatori Productions 2021
Seven Guitar Miniatures
With seven wonders sculpted out of six strings, Chicagoan sonic wizard evokes the wind of fantasy.
A precocious player who won classical guitar competition at 15 years of age and was schooled, in his brother’s company, under the auspices of progressive rock, Tom Salvatori has been issuing solo albums for quite a time now, each platter highlighting his delicate way with the instrument, and this short offering feels like the quintessence of the veteran’s approach. With Salvatori’s performing method defined by light touch and his composer’s manner by lightweight melodies, the pieces on display may seem understated at first, yet when the ring of nylon strings and resonant space fill the air the listener’s bound to fall under Tom’s tuneful spell and leave it twenty-one minutes later, enchanted and reliving every moment.
It’s a trip of sorts, as “To The Sea” opens floodgates to an unhurried stream of notes whose pellucid flow will briefly bring forth romantic mood, before turning to flamenco-like flurries for “Was It Yesterday” that’s simultaneously sparse in aural terms and emotionally intense – a perfect way to contrast the dewdrop details of “Through The Open Door” until the sounds swell up under Salvatori’s dexterous digits to delight one soul. There’s even more warmth to the half-abstract tranquility of “Sunset Glows” while “Tug Of War” shifts transparent strife into a parlor environment by gradually gaining pace and streamlining the drift towards gallop – only to stop short of it and see the strum on “The Downward Spiral” become sparer still. Yet “Slow Dance” – the album’s candlelit finale – is the most expressive piece, a summit of Tom’s ability to create tenderness out of ether and let this handiwork illuminate the world’s existence.
As exquisite as it gets, “Seven Guitar Miniatures” are nigh on breathtaking.
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