Pete Oxley and Nicolas Meier form a fascinating partnership.

Away from what is essentially a jazz guitar duo, they work respectively as the bow maker to some of the world's leading classical string players and as the current foil to guitar god Jeff Beck - and they bring more than a sense of this diverse musical involvement to these dozen tracks. Using nylon- and steel-strung, acoustic and electric 12-string models, guitar synths, fretless guitars and the oud-like glissentar and Turkish baglama, they incorporate a world of sound possibilities into compositions that range from fairly conventional swing guitar tunes to Pat Metheny-like electric soundscapes to soundtracks from a souk. Wherever their adventures take them, the accent is firmly on melody and often joyous, song-like development. Meier's Tales goes as far as to hint at kinship to Hotel California, and while the fingers can get busy (as on Oxley's witty Breezin' On), the music always communicates with a feeling of spontaneity, passion and enjoyment.

Rob Adams