Dominic Frasca - Deviations (2005)

Dominic Frasca is kind of like a cross between Andrés Segovia and Elliott Sharp. Although classically trained and still deeply influenced by classical guitar tradition, Frasca doesn't create music that sounds classical in any meaningful way, and his instrument (a customized ten-string guitar) is a bizarre Frankenstein's monster of acoustic and electronic parts that he uses simultaneously as a melodic and percussive instrument. This album includes two of his own compositions, one of which is the very long title track. "Deviations," with its clicky ostinatos and angular chord changes, is a fascinating piece that sounds as if it were written during a composition workshop co-led by Robert Fripp and Paco de Lucía. Also interesting is a rendition of Philip Glass' "Two Pages," a piece that actually sounds a bit more like the work of Steve Reich than of Glass, though the former would have taken more care to make the musical transitions within the piece more musically compelling. The remaining compositions are briefer pieces written specifically for Frasca by Marc Mellits, all of which make the most of Frasca's quirky virtuosity. Highly recommended.