Acoustic Alchemy stands out among other smooth jazz groups because of their use of two acoustic guitars as the lead instruments. It's a very distinctive sound. Normally, one guitarist in the group plays on nylon strings while the other plays on steel strings. The duo of guitarists has varied over time; for this recording, the group leaders were Nick Webb and Greg Carmichael. Webb passed away in 1998, but Carmichael has carried on. At one time, I had a cassette tape of this group's 1987 debut, Red Dust and Spanish Lace, but that's been lost sometime over the last 20+ years.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: The opening track, Catalina Kiss, is a nice shuffle with a little saxophone thrown in. Other good tracks include Making Waves, No More Nachos (Por Favor), and Ariane. I normally skip The Blue Chip Bop, which tries too hard to be a Larry Carlton piece, and Highland, which never seems to get anywhere.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Hearing this group always reminds me of the old Dallas KOAI FM smooth jazz radio station, 106.1 The Oasis. I often listened to that station when I was student teaching in Richardson and then during my first year of teaching in Carrollton (late '80s/early '90s). I don't think it exists any more, at least not at that frequency with those call letters.
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