Search - Tom Principato, Pete Kennedy :: Fingers on Fire

Eight of the 13 tracks on "Fingers On Fire" were taped when the duo opened for Danny Gatton's Redneck Jazz Explosion at the Cellar Door in 1978. The remaining cuts stem from a few local basement sessions made the same year. The performances are intimate, interwoven and clearly inspired by a long tradition of jazz guitar pairings. The tunes are mostly period pieces-pop & jazz standards arranged for dovetailing guitar lines, contrapuntal accents and chordal accompaniment. Not surprisingly, Charlie Christian's influence is evident on several tracks, including "Opus One" and "Slipped Disc", but on other cuts, such as "Honeysuckle Rose", the swing rhythms give way to the alternating bass patterns associated with Merle Travis & Chet Atkins. The more contemporary tunes range from a lovely and languid trio reprise of "Here, There & Everywhere to a finger-popping show-capping take on "The Flinstones Theme". Thanks to the crisp channel seperation, it's easy to hear what Principato & Kennedy are contributing to the mix, whether playing lead or accompaniment on their electric, semi-hollow guitars. If they were to re-unite and record these tunes again, no doubt the arrangements would be streamlined. But the odd tangent or flamboyant burst occasionally heard here certainly doesn't get in the way of enjoying these vintage performances. Mike Joyce Washington Post