This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen magazine #102 (October / November 2002). The magazine is available on newsstands and by subscription.

Book Reviews

Steve Kaufman's Four-Hour Celtic Workout: Backup and Lead for 50 Great Tunes
by Steve Kaufman
Homepun Tapes ISBN 0-634-04797-3 (2002); $44.95; incl. 4 CDs

This package from respected guitar instructor Steve Kaufman is designed to help players of traditional Celtic instruments, such as tin whistle and fiddle, as well as bluegrass-oriented guitar, mandolin, and banjo improve their skills. Kaufman delivers the tools. The four CDs contain up-to-tempo as well as slower-speed renditions of 50 Celtic tunes, each repeated three times, and with band backing and lead on separate channels. These include reels, jigs, hornpipes, and polkas (not many slow airs here) and range from familiar melodies, such as "Soldier's Joy," "Star of Munster," and "Paddy on the Railroad," to tunes that Kaufman searched out from Irish archives to provide fresh material for experienced players. It's, as the title "workout" suggests, mostly a do-it-yourself project — a little instruction, a lot of music, both recorded and in tab, chord, and notation, and potentially very useful and a lot of fun for those wanting to learn and experiment.
— Kerry Dexter (Tallahassee, FL)

The Music of Django Reinhardt
by Stan Ayeroff
Mel Bay ISBN 0-7866-3388-3 (2002); $29.95

In this book, guitarist Stan Ayeroff offers a thorough study of the soloing techniques of legendary Gypsy swing guitarist Django Reinhardt. Ayeroff begins with a consideration of the main scales and arpeggios that Reinhardt used, along with a consideration of the chord progressions, chord substitutions, and types of ornamentation that characterized his playing. The bulk of the book consists of 44 transcribed solos, each annotated with chord progressions and Ayeroff's unique notation of the types of ornamentation Reinhardt employed in each piece. This book provides a wealth of knowledge about the playing style of one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century. Because Ayeroff uses no tablature, this book will be of greatest use to guitarists who can read music fluently, or are prepared to learn to do so.
— Michael Parrish (Downers Grove, IL)

This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen magazine #102 (October / November 2002). The magazine is available on newsstands and by subscription.