Search - Kevin Kastning & Sándor Szabó :: Parabola

Parabola: duets for 12-string extended baritone guitars; featuring 6-string bass-baritone and 12-string alto guitar.
Sandor Szabo (Hungary), and Kevin Kastning (USA), are modern guitar explorers. Both have invented guitar-family instruments which never previously existed; for example, Kevin invented the 12-string Extended Baritone guitar, which can be heard in the performances on Parallel Crossings. New England's Yankee Magazine called Kevin, ... a pioneer in modern acoustic guitar composition. Szabo & Kastning's 2007 Greydisc release, Resonance, placed in The Perfect Sound magazine's Top 10 Albums of 2007. Sandor Szabo is an internationally known and respected acoustic multi-guitar virtuoso. On Parabola,Sandor performs on a 12-string baritone guitar of Kevin's invention; yet employs his own unorthodox tunings. Kevin utilitzes intervallic tunings on many of the compositions of Parabola. The album was recorded in its entirety in a single day in a recording studio located in the peaceful New England countryside. The sound quality is of audiophile-grade; no compression, EQ, or limiting was utilized in the recording process, and the CD adheres to the rigid high audio standards set by Greydisc Records. Here are quotes from just a few of the many worldwide magazine reviews of the duo's 2007 album Resonance. The abstract expressionist painting on the cover of Resonance is fitting. This collection of haunting baritone guitar duets is a thrilling reminder that music is art as well as entertainment. Kastning, a Massachusetts native, is a pioneer in modern acoustic guitar composition, a world seldom visited by mainstream listeners. In his latest offering Kastning teams up with Hungarian virtuoso Sándor Szabó to produce thirteen puzzling pieces that may be best described as acoustic soundscapes. But the staccato back-and-forth of Resonance can be disturbingly peaceful and inspiring for those with enough time to develop an intimate relationship with it. Listen to this disc alone while you're writing, painting, cooking, or whatever it is you consider your art, and see where it takes you. - Yankee Magazine (USA) Acoustic Guitar magazine, February 2008 Resonance: Editor's Choice: Acoustic Guitar magazine, February 2008 (USA) On the basis of this disc, I feel confident saying that Sándor Szabó and Kevin Kastning are both remarkable guitar players and remarkable musicians. Their disc of baritone guitar duos feels like a summit meeting of players in complete sympathy with each other, operating on the same wavelength. (...) they are meticulously planned and executed pieces, mostly tonal and contrapuntal, with some excursions to the edge of pantonality. The pieces are well-constructed, with a casual, lived-in feeling. The recording is excellent. The sound of the guitars is clean and warm, with clear attacks and no distortion. - Sequenza21 magazine, (USA) Kevin Kastning & Sandor Szabo are both acoustic guitar players who excel in creating experimental guitar music which consists of creating musical sound escapades with deep layers. As well Kevin Kastning as Sandor Szabo received critical acclaim in the press and by the audience for their earlier released CD's. (...) There is a constant flow of emotions going on of the unconscious mind, painted in a creative and experimental setup. The opening track of Resonance, Another Face of the Beauty excels in great dynamics and at times it has a feeling of a classical and complicated composed piece of art. The music of Sandor Szabo & Kevin Kastning is very demanding for a listener, one has to be open for new experiences on processes going on in the human soul and Mother Nature's elements who try to connect with each other. Enjoy the journey!