highly notable guitar Lawrence Blatt – LONGITUDES & LATITUDES: Lawrence was just nominated for “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album” in the 2016 ZMR Awards. The awards take place on May 13th in NOLA, and Lawrence is in good company; on Longitudes & Latitudes, Lawrence does some highly notable guitar work (as well as some synth), and is accompanied by a whole host of notable players as well (Will Ackerman, Jeff Haynes, Jeff Oster, Premik Russell Tubbs, Sam Bevan, Kori L Carothers, Eugene Friesen, Charlie Bisharat, Lila Sklar), and “nails” another fine musical set for your ears! I’ve reviewed quite a bit of his playing, most recently in issue # 153, and I can tell you that he loves the music and knows how to dig down deep into your heart with it! Songs like “A Place In Your Heart“, though short, will stick in your mind and have you repeating it on your playlist over & over again.
In one of his bios, Lawrence wrote that his music “ranges from soft contemporary compositions to mysterious pieces that could be set in the 18th century.” There are many artists who lay claim to such broad diversity, but Lawrence is one of those rare players who lives up to every word of it through his magical guitar playing style… it’s pure pleasure to listen to his soul-stirring work any day – every day, in fact!
You get a total of fifteen musical adventures, both long and short, reflecting Lawrence’s love of world travel, with lots of variety in style and phrasing… my personal favorite is the 5:00 “Open Fields And Running Water“… his guitar on this piece is simple, yet stunning, and it will be easy for you to visualize the landscape he was (musically) painting from. You owe it to your ears to visit Lawrence’s website and listen to his totally uplifting music! I give Lawrence a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.98 for this splendid release. Get more information on the Lawrence Blatt website. Rotcod Zzaj
