Search - Avi Bortnick :: Clean Slate

Hot, clean grooves

MandoDad | Goshen, IN USA | 03/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, I'm biased. I knew Avi in high school. He was a great guitarist then and is now in his own league. I didn't rediscover him until after I'd puchased tracks from John Scofield's incredibly funky Uberjam (Amazon has a typo - it's really Uberjam). It was then that I realized he'd written some of the tunes and was, I believe, a co-producer.



Clean Slate stands on it's own. It's a great first effort by a talented guitarist working to build upon years of experience before Scofield, then boosted by, oh, over 400 shows (I think) with Sco. Some of my favorite tracks include the title track, In The Thick, and Morning Star. I really have no musical critique - they're just tunes I like that have a catchy groove and are extremely well played. Diabolus Solo lets you hear Avi stripped down to bare bones solo guitar - and it really takes off, letting you hear him at his best.



It's an album I initially liked and has grown on me (and my young kids) as great grooving music. Can't wait for the next release!



Last note: I can't figure out for the life of me why this album was listed as explicit. There's no lyrics whatsoever. The only voice you hear is that of a phone solicitor making comments to her co-workers without realizing she's still being recorded on Avi's voice mail. It's hilarious!"