Every Step of the Way

It's hard to imagine that Italian acoustic guitarist Peppino D'Agostino is a self-taught musician. Especially since he covers such a wide gamut of genres amid his nimble plucking, articulate voicings, and, at times, dazzling technical veracity. In the liners, the guitarist states that this production features a collection of solos that he composed over a 35-year span. D'Agostino excels when merging disparate, ethnocentric musings into a framework consisting of cleverly devised hooks and melodies. He incorporates folksy musings with flamenco, jazz, and more. A slick picker who can turn in the sweetest ballad, D'Agostino occasionally injects ringing harmonics and understated motifs into his repertoire. He also executes lightning-fast single-note lines while conjuring up scenarios that spark notions of wide-open vistas. Simply put, D'Agostino is a master artisan who possesses superior technical gifts. However, it's not all about flash and bravado, partly due to the guitarist's predilection for infusing memorably melodic themes into his repertoire.