by Christopher Thiessen for Flatpick Guitar Magazine

Mitch Corbin is perhaps the best guitarist and mandolinist you’ve never heard of. That may not be true if you follow the Byron Berline band, or the David Bromberg band, or have listened recently to a copy of Grisman’s Tone Poets CD. Mitch Corbin has been a continually working and quietly influential musician since his double win at Winfield (guitar and mandolin) in 1982, but until now has not released any projects of his own.

Looking for Home corrects that omission. It presents ten original instrumentals that cover the flatpick spectrum (jazz, folk, fiddle tune) but deftly avoid easy categorization. D.W., for example, is the closest example of a fiddle tune in which the guitar and mandolin trade off, but it contains a melodic twist that extends the genre just a bit. Likewise the pensive folk ballad Looking for Home, the minor-keyed Waiting for April, or The Rapids which evokes images of turbulent dark water. Razor is a bouncy jazz tune, and my current favorite is Red, Green and Old Blue, although my “favorite” tune on this CD seems to change each time I listen to it.

All of which tells us that this is the work of a mature and self-determining artist who fully commands his tools. And that control extends to the production of the CD itself. Mitch recorded all parts himself, but the CD has the eerie quality of a live performance, where all the instrumentalists—lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, and mandolinist—are listening carefully to each other, and modifying dynamics to emphasize the current lead.

Another hallmark of this CD is the tone Corbin coaxes out of his instruments. Mitch has an innate ability to discern how his instruments sound, and how they should sound when recorded.

You may have to hunt for this CD at your local CD emporium. Better yet, drop by www.mitchcorbin.com. This CD is a definite add-to for your listening and learning collection.

 And incidentally, if you don’t think that double-win at Winfield is much, only one other musician has ever pulled it off: Mark O’Connor with fiddle and guitar in 1977. Pretty excellent company, I’d say.