L.A.G.Q. (Los Angeles Guitar Quartet)

Another excellent LAGQ CD and their Sony Classical debut. This CD, recorded in 1997, features John Dearman, Bill Kanengiser, Scott Tennant, Andrew York performing a collection of traditional, modern and original pieces. Titles are: 'African Suite' (Kaneng

The term crossover can mean many things, and, as Sony Classical has proved time and again, attempts to package classical artists as sophisticated dabblers in world music can be as embarrassing as it is, on rare occasions, stunning. On the cover of this, their Sony Classical debut recording, we have four essentially classically-trained guitarists slouching like members of a rock group. The 60-minute disc careers through music inspired by Africa, Brazil, the Balkans, Chile and Japan, with stops in reggae, jazz, and New Music along the way. Despite the obvious talent and technical skill of the L.A.G.Q.'s members, this listener found little to enjoy in this particularly watered-down and superficial-sounding repertoire. --Gwendolyn Freed