Chris Crain

No Words 2003 CD $12.

Indiana Stick player Chris Crain brings us his second CD release with "No Words". The solo Stick CD is a collection of twelve pieces. Seven of the pieces are originals and the rest are a collection of covers from a diverse group of artists including Pat Metheny, Santana and Vince Guaraldi.

No Words is yet another in that group of records that stands as a testimonial to the pristine sound of the instrument itself with no added tracks or effects. Right from the opening bars of "End of Summer", Crain delivers a smooth execution of all the selections from his 10-string Stick with the standard Stickup™ module. The selections provide a variety of rhythms to choose from with ballads, latin jazz, and the walking bass groove of "Believe Me". The ballads Chris performs on this recording are particularly nice. The CD wraps up with the two-handed bass punch of the tune "Busy Body".

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