Program Note:

Many associate the electric guitar with the bent pitches of Chicago blues, the “chack" of funk, or the distortion of heavy metal. Even in the experimental realm of “Guitartronica" — where pioneers like Tangerine Dream used the instrument for “sound sculpting" to blur the line between human performance and synthetic texture — it remains tied to a specific atmospheric utility. Its reputation for stadium-sized charisma makes it the perfect target for reconsideration.

Film Noir celebrates the fact that the ‘familiar’ is not necessarily ‘derivative’ by subverting these associations. While movement titles provide the atmosphere, the music provides the flight. Through meticulous notation, the score captures the spirit of improvisation by blending rock’s rebellious energy with a meta-modernist lens. Here, the ‘magic’ is found not in casual chutzpah, but in the startling precision and understated hipness of studio-pro mastery. It is a reminder that there is a profound, effortless cool in technical virtuosity and the simple, undeniable act of playing really, really well.

Selected Review:

I liked the opening “road-trippy” (the composer’s words) first movement called “Pacific Coast Highway” and really liked “Torch Song” which had a smooth, jazzy “noir” feeling. … Deep, emotional and super hip stuff, and it feels earthy and real, not forced or contrived.

"Pacific Coast Highway," has an “expansive, ‘wide-open-sky vibe'"; the second movement, “Torch Song," is lyrical and elegiac; the third movement, “You Should See the Other Guy," has a “lithe, swinging, ‘black tie and a whiskey, neat' ethos"; and the final movement, “Maybe Not Today," is notable for its “‘aching romanticism and noir-ish feel'.”

— Buffalo Rising