Jackie King - Moon Magic (CD)

All Music Guide

This is only journeyman jazz guitarist Jackie King's second solo album of instrumentals (though he also did a duet album with long-time associate Willie Nelson and appears on other recordings) following Nightbird, which consisted mostly of originals. This time around, he has adopted a trio format, backed by bassist Wilbur Krebs and drummer/percussionist Michael Aragon for a set of standards with the word "moon" in the title, such as "Moon River" and "Moonlight in Vermont." Some of these tunes have been played extensively by jazz musicians, including some guitarists ("How High the Moon" by Les Paul, for instance), so King's challenge is finding new things to play. He faces the challenge by stretching out in versions that last up to eight and a half minutes and often go far afield from the original changes. Despite a lineage that includes country and rock music, he is steeped in the work of jazz's greatest electric guitarists, and fans of everyone from Charlie Christian to Wes Montgomery... will find things to like here. - William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read more Less