CLARELYNN ROSE

Elegant Tern

Heartwood Music (2002)

reviewed by Bill Binkelman

Acoustic guitarist and dedicated forester Clarelynn Rose (a.k.a. Clarelynn Nunamaker) has favored us - and I do mean favored us - with her second recording of melodic, heartfelt, and gentle solo acoustic guitar music, Elegant Tern. The elegant tern is a California coastal bird and, like the bird, the music on this album is also graceful and beautiful. Clarelynn's playing, which was already stellar on her debut (The Redwood Sidthe) has actually become more refined and more carefully nuanced. She is now, in my opinion, the equal of any other acoustic guitarist in this field currently recording. Her two albums are among the select few that I can truthfully say I never tire of playing, be it for dedicated listening or used as accompaniment to cooking, reading, or day-dreaming in a favorite chair.

Once again, the songs themselves vary (somewhat) in tempo and mood, although nothing on the album is either pulse-raising nor sleep-inducing; it's just the right mixture of sedate and gently spirited. There are pensive pieces, such as "Monk's Gate/I Saw Three Ships," the title track, or the closing number, "Redstone;" and there are a few livelier songs, like the gently rocking album-opener "Sunshower" or "Damnation Trail" with its mysterious melody and loping-gait pace. However, all the cuts on Elegant Tern are, well, elegant. Subtle echoes of Celtic or English folk influence surface now and then, but usually just a dash or smidgen - I would never label the CD as anything remotely like world music. Instead, as Clarelynn once again thanks him in her liner notes, Alex de Grassi is an apt comparison, although surely Clarelynn Rose has her own distinctive "voice" and offers music that is original and sincere.

I don't have a lot more to say about Elegant Tern. After all, I named it as one of my favorite recordings of 2002. The entire album resonates with gentility, emotion, and grace. Clarelynn Rose displays an abundance of technique yet never calls attention to it with showiness or ostentatious fireworks. I sincerely doubt that anyone who enjoys acoustic guitar music will hear a more likable album this year - I know I don't expect to. Elegant Tern merits my highest recommendation.