Intuite
Ignore the surreal New Age cover painting with Pierre's leafy features  peering quizzically from a tree--Intuiteis a delightful album. It's also  Bensusan's first entirely unaccompanied and totally acoustic recording in a  professional career that began in 1976 with hisPrès de Parisalbum.  Though he never took formal guitar lessons, Bensusan is among the world's most  highly respected fingerstyle guitarists and has been dubbed the Claude Monet of  the guitar. Aside from recordings, he has also produced several instructional  books and videos for guitar players. Born in Algeria in 1957, he moved with his  family to Paris when he was four. He took his early cues from the folk revival  of the 1960s, but the breadth of his influences goes way beyond that, with  flavors ranging through jazz, classical, and medieval into world and, in  particular, Celtic music. All of these styles can be heard onIntuite,  with perhaps the most striking example being the title track. This is one of  seven pieces dedicated to other musicians, in this case Iraqi oud player Munir  Bachir. Bensusan skillfully mimics the modality of the Arab lute even though he  currently sticks exclusively to the unusual DADGAD guitar tuning. The piece  dedicated to British guitarist John Renbourn, "En Route from Scarborough,"  borrows cleverly from the classic melody "Scarborough Fair," although this and  all other compositions are Bensusan's own. Another highlight is "La Hora  Española," which effectively evokes an Iberian ambience without resorting to  clichés. Using neither vocals nor other instruments,Intuiteconstitutes  a series of chilled abstract narratives--ideal music for unwinding after a  stressful day.--Jon Lusk