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Samo Salamon & Howard Levy: Peaks of Light
ByThis album presents a program of duets, most of them new Salamon compositions featuring Levy's harmonica. "Devil's Darling" opens the set with brisk acoustic guitar, strumming an odd-metered pattern. Once Levy enters it becomes a harmonica feature, which is a frequent pattern: Salamon spends more playing time as an accompanist than a soloist. "Chaplin Walks" finds Salamon on electric guitar, and Levy takes a turn as accompanist for the guitar solo, which becomes a brief dialog before the theme returns. "Sleepy Burja" revisits this Salamon ballad: the combination of volume pedal swells and harmonica gives a lovely, yearning sound.
The pair present one collective improvisation. "Our Tune" could have been titled "Out Tune," since it has the most harmonically free playing on the album. "That had its moments," Levy comments at the end. Levy's sole compositional contribution is "Riding the Urban Range," which indeed has a vaguely Western (as in the American frontier) tone. "The Harmonica Suite" opens with a waltz, which finds space for an extended unaccompanied guitar solo. Fans of Salamon's guitar playing will enjoy "Freeze," which closes the album and includes a bit of unaccompanied electric guitar.
Peaks of Light stands as a highlight in Samo Salamon's prolific recording career. Howard Levy may not be an obvious choice for a duet partner, but the sparkling results speak for themselves. Recommended even if you think you do not like the harmonica.
Track Listing
Devil's Darling; Chaplin Walks; Barren; Sleepy Burja; Our Tune; Riding the Urban Range; Para Para; The Harmonica Suite - Part I; The Harmonica Suite - Part II; The Harmonica Suite - Part III; Freeze.
Personnel
Samo Salamon
guitar, electricHoward Levy: harmonica; Samo Salamon: electric and acoustic guitars.
Album information
Title: Peaks of Light | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Samo Records
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About Samo Salamon
Instrument: Guitar, electric
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