Acoustic Alchemy: Sounds of St. Lucia

Although Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale (the steel-and-nylon-string-guitars heart of Acoustic Alchemy, with Gilderdale replacing late founding member Nick Webb) define themselves in an accompanying 10-minute interview as an instrumental pop group--especially with the recent addition of bass, keyboards, and drums--the music industry places them in the smooth jazz category, and that's the real audience for this boppin' but mellow 97-minute concert filmed in 2001at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival's 10th anniversary. Serving up a generous 14-song set, the band performs several hits, including "Catalina Kiss," "Playing for Time," "Lazeez," "Cool as a Rule," "Red Dust & Spanish Lace," and the title cut from their 2000 reggae-influenced release The Beautiful Game. Other highlights include the jazzy "Flamoco Loco," "Panama Cat" (featuring a very nice slap bass solo introduction by Frank Felix), and the jammin' "Viva Ché." Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0, this amped-up acoustic set from the triple Grammy-nominated band will have audiences tappin' their toes and swiveling their hips with its melting-pot-of-musical-flava beat. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)