OPEN WINDOWS
The pieces of music I love most are open windows – for the ears, for the mind.

This CD, my first project for Austrian label ATS-Records, presents music for solo guitar focusing on my own compositions. Most of the eleven tracks roam landscapes that are usually fenced in using the categories “Jazz” or “Classical”. Yet music flows like water, and it can just as well be described using words like “earthy” or “conceptual”. I hope that the four pieces by other composers will help listeners as points of orientation. Heitor Villa-Lobos and Antônio Carlos Jobim, both of whom have had a huge influence on my music and my approach to the guitar, are certainly familiar to anyone interested in the music of Brazil. The Cuban Leo Brouwer – he recently celebrated his eightieth birthday and is still going strong – creates works combining compositional rigor with a refreshing openness to the sounds of our time. Finally, Sidney Bechet’s “Petite Fleur” pays homage to the great African-American musical heritage that I grew up with in the USA.

The music is available not only on disc, but also on all major digital distribution platforms. Still, it is really worth checking out the lovingly produced CD, which combines beautiful photography by Josef Polleross with Leonie Schlager’s brilliant graphic design. More, it offers an informative booklet text (English/German) in which I write about my personal motivations, inspirations and experiences while doing my best to shed light on the cultures and traditions behind the music. Whatever the format, the sound is phenomenal thanks to wonderful mixing and mastering by Martin Holter at Synthome Productions here in Vienna.

OPEN WINDOWS – Tracklist

1) All I Got  (C. Barber)

2) raining thinking south  (C. Barber)

3) Sonatina  (C. Barber)

4) Étude #8  (H. Villa-Lobos)

5) Aventureira  (C. Barber)

6) Preludio Epigramatico #4  (L. Brouwer)

7) For L. B.  (C. Barber)

8) Goldzahn  (C. Barber)

9) Corcovado  (A. C. Jobim)

10) Petite Fleur  (S. Bechet)

11) Waiting for Liz  (C. Barber)

Order the CD directly from the ATS-Records website.

For streaming and downloads go to my LINKS/DOWNLOAD page.

Last but not least, my thanks to everyone who made the CD release party at Tiempo Nuevo such a success! The evening featured a selection of music from the new album as well as a talk with my longtime musical companion Claus Haslauer on how the CD project came about. Here are some impressions captured by Josef Polleross: