Another one of the Road Trip participants, Edward Hamlin (known as Zenpicker on the forums), has released his latest album, titled "Rooted"!
The album, which is 3+ years (and numerous re-recordings) in the making, contains 12 beautifully arranged original solo acoustic guitar pieces performed by Edward. He describes these songs as, "solo acoustic guitar tunes with jazz and Celtic influences, most with a strong rhythmic groove under them". Here's a sample of what's on the album:
To purchase the album and to listen to more (full-length) samples, visit the Listening Room section of Edward Hamlin's website. You'll also find other recordings that Edward has done in the Listening Room - well worth the download! Be sure to check out the rest of his website while you're there; Edward has written some really cool poetry and even some fiction!
Note: Rooted can also be found on DigStation (as downloadable songs) and will soon be on iTunes and CD Baby.
After two years and four complete start-to-finish re-recordings, Larry Pattis has finally released his new CD, "What Tomorrow Brings":
Twelve original pieces and two covers make up this exquisite display of fingerstyle guitar artistry. Pattis' most ambitious work to date, these most recent compositions and arrangements are intensely personal, yet they are like an open book, with each piece a complete and accessible chapter or story unto itself.
Larry is a great musician and a very talented guitarist who's able to coax some of the sweetest tones out of his guitars - I've always loved the sound of his recordings. Check out the video to the right (put together by the very talented Bob Pegritz) for a small taste of what's on the new CD.
To hear more samples and to purchase this CD (as well as Larry's other CDs), visit the Official Larry Pattis Website.
El McMeen has released a new DVD with performances of 30 tunes and more. In El's own words:
I am pleased to announce that a DVD on my music and me has been released by Vestapol Productions, a division of Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop, in Vestapol's "Guitar Artistry Series". It is a 90-minute, 3-camera, studio DVD, presenting my performance of 30 tunes, along with interview clips and a mini-lesson on the tune "Star of the County Down." Tab/music for most of the tunes is contained in pdf format on the DVD, and can be downloaded and printed out.
Watch the video for a sample of what's on the DVD and visit El McMeen's website to purchase a copy of your own.
El is a fantastic guitarist and his beautiful celtic arrangements are what first introduced me to the CGDGAD tuning (Low "C"). Be sure to check out the rest of his website, where you'll find other DVDs, CDs, tabs (for free and for purchase), and more.
I've been listening to a lot of Masa Sumide lately (check out the cool video and you'll understand why).
Masa is originally from Japan but spent a number of years living in Australia, where he switched to playing solo fingerstyle guitar, before finally returning back home to Japan. He has several albums to his credit and has played on stage with the likes of Laurence Juber, Don Alder and Andy McKee. He is an extremely captivating fingerstyle guitarist who plays everything from melodic ballads to funky jazz and blues. His technique is incredible!
Most of the online music services seem to have Masa Sumide's music and you can find a few of his CDs on the Acoustic Music Resource Online Catalog. There are also sample clips of his music in the Discography section of the Official Masa Sumide Website. The website is mostly Japanese, but the links and song titles are in English.
Masaaki Kishibe is quickly becoming one of my favorite fingerstyle guitarists.He composes some of the most beautiful melodic guitar pieces that I've ever heard. His playing is very expressive and full of emotion and proves that you don't need to play 20 notes a second or have a bag of guitar tricks to get your message across. 'Course, Masaaki is a very accomplished player and does have such a bag of tricks, but he knows when to use them!
Here's a video of Masaaki performing the song "Rainy Window", which is from his album titled "Bloom":
Unfortunately, Masaaki Kishibe is not very well known here in the United States and his music can be very difficult to find. If you're interested in purchasing his music, Pooh Yokocho, Inc. has a full selection of Masaaki's CDs and songbooks and will ship them internationally. You can use the email address at the bottom of that page to contact them (they're multi-lingual).
A Slight Detour 
The album, which is 3+ years (and numerous re-recordings) in the making, contains 12 beautifully arranged original solo acoustic guitar pieces performed by Edward. He describes these songs as, "solo acoustic guitar tunes with jazz and Celtic influences, most with a strong rhythmic groove under them". Here's a sample of what's on the album: