1 2 3 Fingerstyle Guitar

Flora Hibberd’s debut album *Swirl* is a rich tapestry of sound and meaning, influenced by her background as a translator. The Paris-based British songwriter uses her experience to explore the nuances of language, decoding the slippages where English and French intertwine. These linguistic intersections become moments of strange poetry, revealing hidden threads of life and deepening our understanding. Hibberd’s songwriting process involves searching for jarring words and natural language breaks, mirroring the framework she uses as a translator to understand how symbols and meanings shift. *Swirl’s* 11 tracks are infused with secret codes, non-verbal signifiers, and intricate musical layers. Produced by Shane Leonard in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the album features contributions from a versatile group of musicians, including JT Bates, Ben Lester, Pat Keen, and JE Sunde.

Ben Walker was recently hailed as one of the best acoustic guitarists in the world right now by Total Guitar magazine. A versatile composer as well as a celebrated instrumentalist, his passion is putting old jewels in new settings. After six critically acclaimed albums and a BBC Folk Award as a duo with Josienne Clarke and more than fifty records as a producer of other artists, Ben Walker's signature style has been sought out from punk to Proms, from Rough Trade to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Flora Hibberd’s debut album *Swirl* is a rich tapestry of sound and meaning, influenced by her background as a translator. The Paris-based British songwriter uses her experience to explore the nuances of language, decoding the slippages where English and French intertwine. These linguistic intersections become moments of strange poetry, revealing hidden threads of life and deepening our understanding. Hibberd’s songwriting process involves searching for jarring words and natural language breaks, mirroring the framework she uses as a translator to understand how symbols and meanings shift. *Swirl’s* 11 tracks are infused with secret codes, non-verbal signifiers, and intricate musical layers. Produced by Shane Leonard in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the album features contributions from a versatile group of musicians, including JT Bates, Ben Lester, Pat Keen, and JE Sunde.

Niki King and Marcus Ford have become established as one of Scotland’s most high profile jazz duos with sell-out concerts at both the Edinburgh and Glasgow International Festivals. They have also performed internationally including concerts in Germany, Japan, Switzerland, China and Italy. Niki King won the Perrier Jazz vocal award 2001 and was further nominated for the prestigious spirit of Scotland Award and International Young Jazz Vocalist in Brussels 2005. As a solo artist she has supported Al Green and the Average White Band and with her incredible vocal range and stage persona she is considered one of the UK’s most exciting new vocalists.

S.G. Goodman feels the lingering impression of someone who didn’t return her love in “Teeth Marks,” the first preview and title track of the Kentucky singer-songwriter and activist‘s follow-up to 2020’s Old Time Feeling. Teeth Marks will be released June 3 via Verve Forecast.

Germany-born Willie Salomon has a truly authentic and sincere blues voice and is a premier guitar picker specialising in roots fingerstyle blues. His music also covers a variety of styles that range from folkmusic to oldtime jazz (ragtime, boogie-woogie).

Niki King and Marcus Ford have become established as one of Scotland’s most high profile jazz duos with sell-out concerts at both the Edinburgh and Glasgow International Festivals. They have also performed internationally including concerts in Germany, Japan, Switzerland, China and Italy. Niki King won the Perrier Jazz vocal award 2001 and was further nominated for the prestigious spirit of Scotland Award and International Young Jazz Vocalist in Brussels 2005. As a solo artist she has supported Al Green and the Average White Band and with her incredible vocal range and stage persona she is considered one of the UK’s most exciting new vocalists.

Vibraphonist Gary Burton joined the faculty at the Berklee College of Music in Boston the same year Alone At Last was recorded twenty-eight years ago. By that time he had already recorded over a dozen albums as leader and had formed critical professional relationships with (among others) Keith Jarrett, Steve Swallow, Larry Coryell, Roy Haynes, and Stan Getz. His four-mallet unaccompanied vibraphone improvisation, which appears on four tracks, is rich in harmony and remarkable in technique.
This CD recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, New York and live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland.