JUKKA TOLONEN AND COSTE APETREA

Here is a real treat for fans of masterful acoustic guitar playing. Imagine two guitar legends seated next to each on a bare stage with the camera rolling as they jam and solo all over each other. Finland's Jukka Tolonen is joined by friend and collaborator Coste Apetrea (of Sweden) for a short but sweet 30 minutes of acoustic music covering a variety of moods from quiet to playful to roaring. They warm up nicely during the opening "Gypsy" but by the time they get deep into "Friend Play" the level of jamming is really something. They trade off between lead and rhythm and both men are exciting to watch especially if you are a guitarist. Reminds me of watching Steve Howe or others at the Montreaux Jazz Festival. The two lads had been playing together for about 5 years and their interplay and fretboard communication surely shows it. This is a very short DVD of interest to a rather limited contingent of the prog community but for those who love acoustic music it is not to be missed. Sound and picture quality are not stunning by today's standards but certainly good enough.

Many credible artists were duly impressed and inspired by works of the acoustic trio of McLaughlin, DiMeola and de Lucia. This DVD recorded live in Denmark by two of Scandinavia's leading artists pays tribute to the style.

Starting with a piece "Gypsy" is a definite nod towards Django Reinhardt, followed by a Spanish flamenco-like one that more closely resembles the approach of the aforementioned trio. The third piece is more of an original approach and the final track has bluesy elements akin to McLaughlin's interpretation of such. These four somewhat different pieces seem to blend well together in due harmony.

Excellent - er, no - brilliant(!) performance by both artists taking their acoustic guitars to the limit. Highly recommended to those in favor of the style.

The downside is that the DVD is shamefully short at a mere 34 minutes with no bonus material added. The production quality is also rather poor.

Still, that it has nothing to do with the musicianship and the performance is a definite 5.