Michael Manring on bass and keys – with Steve Morse and Alex Skolnick on guitar, Phil Aaberg on piano, and Tim "Herb" Alexander and Steve Smith on drums. CD

Music from Andy Summers, Ralph Towner, Vernon Reid, Laurence Juber, David Cullen, Pierre Bensusan, Alex de Grassi, Bill Frisell, Henry Kaiser, Gary Lucas, Michael Manring, Tony McManus, Arlen Roth, David Russell and more. CD

An overlooked gem from that moment when the acoustic underground of the 70s was sometimes getting lost amidst the new age deluge of the 80s – even though all of the best musicians still their best talents intact! Mike Marshall is one of those musicians – working here on mandolin and guitars alongside violinist Darrol Anger – in a warmly wonderful partnership that forges new roads ahead in instrumental music – pushing past some of the coldness of the post-jazz inventions of the ECM generation, and maybe finding a more American space in the process. Both of the leaders play a bit of keyboards – but hardly much at all – and the group does feature electric bass from Michael Manring – but these non-acoustic elements are really just used as shading around the edges, and still leave plenty of focus on the string performances that really make the record great. Titles include "Dolphins", "Dardanelles", "Bach Bouree", "Beloved Infidel", "Saurian's Farewell", and "Spring Gesture". CD

Music from Jim Brickman, Michael Hedges, Alex De Grassi, Liz Story, William Ackerman, Ray Lynch, Philip Aaberg, and Michael Manring. CD

One of Ackerman's great guitar records – really a cut above some of the more mainstream modes of Windham Hill. The set also features guest work on varying tracks – with Philip Aaberg on piano, Michael Manring on bass, and Charles Bisharat on violin. CD