ec Was Here

Eric Clapton was already an acknowledged master of the electric guitar in January 1992 when he traded his signature Stratocaster for an acoustic Martin to record Unplugged. The live album captured the legendary guitarist, backed by a small band, performing acoustic versions of his own songs and several blues standards. Released later that same year, the album was an unqualified blockbuster, selling more than 19 million copies worldwide and earning six Grammy Awards, sweeping the top honors, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Reprise Records celebrates Clapton's electrifying acoustic performances with a new 2-CD/DVD collection that includes a remastered version of the original album along with six unreleased outtakes on two CDs. The DVD features a newly restored version of the concert, as well as more than an hour of previously unseen footage from the rehearsal.

Its massive success – it is one of the rare albums to be certified as diamond in the U.S. and it went platinum all over the world; it also won the Album of the Year Grammy for 1992 – makes it difficult to place Eric Clapton's 1992 MTV Unplugged in context, but it's important to do so…

Harps are not commonly heard in jazz, especially as a lead instrument. Edmar Castaneda, a Colombian Harpist, band leader, and composer, was born in Bogota, Colombia, where he started playing the Colombian harp at the age of thirteen, and over the years, he has developed amazing chops, much on display here. Those who have not heard jazz harp might expect it to sound wimpy or simply out of place in such a setting, but Castaneda burns it up on this album. Featuring Marshall Gilkes on trombone and Dave Silliman on drums, "Cuarto de colores" displays tremendous subtlety and maturity. Adventurous souls who develop a taste for the sound of this artist might also check out Carol Emanuel's excellent "Tops of Trees," featuring Bobby Previte, Marty Ehrlich, Marc Ribot, Hank Roberts, and Guy Klucevsek.