Guitar master Alex de Grassi returns with The Bridge this spring from Tropo Records (via Six Degrees Records). The album features arrangements of classics by Jimi Hendrix (“Angel”), Gershwin (“It Ain’t Necessarily So”) and traditional material such as “Shenandoah”. Recorded at Skywalker Sound in Northern California, the album provides further evidence of de Grassi’s continued evolution as a player and composer, as heard on the title track, for which he has just released a new video.
Reflecting on the tune’s origins, he says, “While composing for this new recording, I had a direct view of the Albion Bridge, the last wooden trestle bridge on the California coast highway 1. A very narrow bridge standing dramatically 173 above the water where the river joins the sea, it became both an inspiration for the title track as well as a metaphor for spanning the many cultures and musical influences that can be heard on this album.”
He continues, “At night, headlights of cars crossing the bridge create a steady rhythm of flickering of light between the uprights of the railing, and that rhythm became the basis for the piece, a steady ostinato over which the long, syncopated notes of the melody unfold slowly. I wanted to convey both that image as well as the perspective of the driver approaching, crossing, and then arriving at the other side. For me, there is a sense of mystery, a little bit of danger, as well as getting lost in the thoughts of the unknown driver behind the wheel.”
“The Bridge” provides further evidence of his compositional prowess and his ability to fuse the heady world of virtuosity with deep emotions. His inimitable voice remains intact and as awe-inspiring as ever.