Acclaimed Canadian fingerstylist Art Turner didn’t take up the guitar until age 31, but the award-winning photographer and former motocross racer evidently made up for lost time. On his fourth release, Sonora, Turner spirits the listener into a world of shapeshifting instrumental mood pieces — some solo acoustic, others as collaborations with several of North America’s elite instrumentalists.
Turner favors the rich, resonant palette of open tunings and seems to relish exploring the acoustic guitar’s sonic versatility. Perhaps owing to his other avocations, Turner’s compositions embody picturesque, kinetic, and adventurous qualities. His technique is formidable, but he’s the flip side of a technician, more interested in evocative emotional impact than virtuosity. As a conjurer of sonic scenes, Turner experiments with melodies, textures, and tempos, blending bold, percussive strokes with supple filigree.
Turner occasionally introduces a piece with a slow, rich figure that hangs in the air in anticipation of the melody. His plucked notes at the end of a run are often given the space to sustain sweetly in the air until they dissipate, followed by a bubbly froth of notes as a fresh musical idea blooms.
Much of Sonora unfolds like the score to a waking dream, as Turner skews formal song structures to create a more impressionistic, cinematic effect. Each track conjures a sophisticated mood, at times reflective, and other times boldly extroverted. “Drive” is an acoustic joy ride in which guitar and fretless bass swirl around a recurring staccato riff. Feverish fiddle work animates “Chicken Man” with frenetic grace. “Matrika” is a gorgeous duet between guitar and viola that evokes a sense of winsome melancholy.
Sonora often calls to mind the innovative spirit of Michael Hedges, a sensation that’s underscored on half the album’s tracks by the legato lines of fretless bassist and longtime Hedges foil Michael Manring. Several other collaborators contribute to the beautiful melodic conversations on the record, including violinists Hugh Marsh (Loreena McKennitt, Bruce Cockburn) and Jeremy Penner, violist Richard Moody, and cellist Ann Bourne (Jane Siberry, Loreena McKennitt). The collective impact of the resulting interplay transcends genre, and feels light with improvisational spirit and lyricism.
The openness of the record invites the listener to respond to the music in a personal way. One could easily savor the music in-between headphones or enjoy it peripherally as background music. Either way, Turner’s “sonorous” effort is a treat. Let’s hope he doesn’t find a new hobby anytime soon.
— Jim Kirlin
Acclaimed Canadian fingerstylist Art Turner didn’t take up the guitar until age 31, but the award-winning photographer and former motocross racer evidently made up for lost time. On his fourth release, Sonora, Turner spirits the listener into a world of shapeshifting instrumental mood pieces — some solo acoustic, others as collaborations with several of North America’s elite instrumentalists.