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Classical Guitar, Spring 2019 (Print Edition)

Winter 2018 "This album came in a while back and I’ve found myself playing it a lot; always a good sign."

Background:

The Album Parlor Tricks was conceived and practiced onstage in 2016 as Andrew McEvoy traveled the mid-Atlantic doing cocktail sets at society parties and nightclub shows. During this time, Andrew would ornament and improvise upon 19th and 20th century salon music, often beginning sets with a free improvisation. That practice was inspired by Andrew's two weeks of study over two years with Roland Dyens at Hylton Performing Arts Center's "Guitar Rendezvous," and the performances given at that time by the late guitar maestro and composer.

Within weeks of Andrew's first recording sessions on this music, the sad news came of Maestro Dyens' passing from lung cancer at 60 years of age. In the middle of production, Andrew changed the programming to feature some of Dyens' most iconic works. Pouring his admiration and former hopes for continued study with the Maestro into the work, Andrew paired those pieces with some of Dyens' favorite composers as a eulogy.

One composer's thought is answered by another, and the pieces differ from their original forms based on their place in the program - a "Midnight in Paris" style discussion between artists. Dyens should enjoy an honored place among a tapestry of great composers in the afterlife.

Andrew had a successful tour of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic, West Coast, Midwest and the South to promote this album in 2018-19, and a few years later was invited to make the first recording of "Baba Song," the 42nd of "Les 100," Roland Dyens' final published set of original music.