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Our Review

Classical guitarist Edward Wright masterfully applies his light, fluid touch to 25(!) timeless holiday classics on Christmas Guitar Solos. This is an easy album to love.

Song selection here is pretty much brilliant. Covering 25 pieces in just under an hour, Wright provides impressively developed snippets (averaging just over 2 minutes each) of the ancient, the contemporary, the classical, and the carefree. Just about everything's here, and it is all done very, very well.

Wright's fingers deftly weave complex, multilayered paths through old chestnuts such as The Holly and the Ivy; on other tracks, the artist embodies simplicity itself (Away in a Manger, for example). The delicate precision on Gesu Bambino (the longest track, at nearly four minutes) definitely put a smile on my face. The excellent interplay on Do You Hear What I Hear? makes this cut another favorite. It's all good!

When I first began my journey through Christmas Guitar Solos this afternoon, my head was aching, and I carried the world's worries on my shoulders. With each passing track, the burden lessened, and my noggin released its aches and pains. I cannot recommend Edward Wright as a "cure all," but I can tell you that his album brightened my day considerably.

The leaves are mostly off the trees here in Minnesota, and winter is knocking at the door. Edward Wright's warmly elegant Christmas Guitar Solos makes it relatively easy to face the cold winter blast that awaits. The music is straightforward, well-executed, and welcoming, like excellent comfort food at the end of a long day. Enjoy!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2009)

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From the liner notes:

All songs arranged by Edward Wright.


From the artist's Website:

Edward Wright is a solo classical guitarist whose repertoire blends classical and contemporary styles. A graduate of the Hartt College of Music, he has continued his studies with such master guitarists as Alice Artzt, Oscar Ghiglia and Christopher Parkening. Brother to gallery owner Charlie Wright, "Ed's" music has provided the perfect backdrop to the Wright Gallery throughout all it's twenty four years.

Edward has appeared as a soloist with chamber and symphonic groups throughout New England and the Southwest. His solo concerts preformed over the past thirty years have been a mix of his original compositions, a combination of classical form and technique with contemporary rhythms and harmonies reflecting his background in popular and jazz music.

Edward Wright lives in Southwestern Connecticut where he teaches and preforms as a soloist and with his traditional Irish ensemble, Themselves and a rock trio, Mojo.

Edward Wright

Christmas Guitar Solos

Artist link

Track List