Shaun Murray is a guitarist of astonishing virtuosity and versatility. On this his first solo CD, he has put together a range of instrumental showcases that highlight not only the depth of his performing agility but also the breadth of the many musical genres he embraces. Just a glance through the composer credits of the works on this album reveals a sumptuous mix of the classical and contemporary varying in style from Antonio Carlos Jobim to Beethoven and from Tarrega to Don McLean. There is a Jazz medley, recorded live in France and Shaun’s peerless take on the Queen classic, Bohemian Rhapsody, which he is rarely allowed to leave a gig without playing. His unique fingerpicking style draws the melody out of the tunes as the chords shift seamlessly beneath it, all the while underpinned by his rolling bass lines. It is rare indeed to find a guitar player with such a complete interpretative ability and all-encompassing technique. Two of the pieces you will hear were originally written for the piano and are seldom played on any other instruments.

Shaun plays regular dates at The Savoy Hotel in London and other prestigious venues and performs regularly with a number of bands including Shameless and The Sally Ironmonger Trio.

I hope you enjoy the various musical styles on this CD. There’s some jazz, a few classical outings including the monster Carulli duet, an Irish traditional, some Country, my take on a Rock Classic and a couple of Django-esque offerings. The common denominator is the nylon-strung guitar and that’s what this CD is all about.

My grateful thanks are owed to Brian Carter who played on  tracks 4 &11, Calvin Beedle - my duettist on track 15  and Jim Riley for his patience, skill and grace during the recording in August 2006.

New Album to be released 12 August 2007

This new collection – still firmly in the ‘Bach to Bacharach’ mould -includes four of my favourite Classical pieces. The Bach Prelude and Tarrega’s Capricho Arabe are pieces I’ve always enjoyed playing and Faure’s Pavane, although written for flute, works well I think as a guitar duet.

Cavatina was composed – and enjoyed plenty of airplay – about the time I started learning the guitar. Perhaps, without realising, hearing John Williams inspired me. I did record the piece in its unaccompanied form some years ago but here it gets ‘the Deerhunter’ treatment with strings and flutes.

Recording, engineering and mastering - all analogue, of course - was painstakingly and patiently done by Jim Riley at Ranscombe Studios in Rochester. The cover image was designed by

Hilary Cooke.