1 Sandu -. Clifford Brown – 8.29

2 On Green Dolphin Street – Bronislau Kaper/Ned Washington – 7.17

3 Darn That Dream – Jimmy van Heusen/Eddie Delange – 10.10

4 Mr PC – John Coltrane – 9.48

5 Yardbird Suite – Charlie Parker – 5.16

6 Sunny – Georgie Fame – 11.15

7 Taking A Chance On Love – Vernon Duke/John Latouche/Ted Fetter – 8.52

8 I Hear A Rhapsody – Jack Baker/George Fragos/Dick Gasparre– 8.07

Recorded at Ferndale Studio –Buckley, North Wales.

November 2009

Recording and Mastering Engineer - Marc Joy

If you are a "Lover of Jazz Guitar" you may have to check out this CD. Esmond Selwyn is a personal friend, yet I find him to be a Mentor. Please check him out at www.esmondselwyn.com, Every guitarist should listen to this performance …….. peace.
John Montgomery Carson

Jazzwise, April 2012
Ringing with the sound of a bygone age steeped as this album is in the swing-into-bop mainstream jazz of the 1950s and 60s, Welsh guitarist Esmond Selwyn, little known in metropolitan jazz circles and no worse for that, is completely at ease with his instrument, while John-Paul Gard accompanies him on Hammond dutifully but no less astutely. Don't expect any great groundbreaking iconoclastic intensions here but that's not the point at all. Selwyn has his own way about him and while no spring chicken has cleverly managed to locate himself on the right side of retro both in his buccaneering style, particularly in the later loosely swinging tracks, and in the artfully yellowed look of the artwork. It's definitely a case of the bottle half full rather than heading towards empty.
"The Middle Half" of the bottle, as he says jokingly in his note referring to the album title, is of course "blatant nonsense". 'On Green Dolphin Street' comes off best with Robin Jones' tantalising cymbal punctuation a feature as the improvisation begins to drift off. It's a lovely adornment, and among other highlights 'Darn That Dream' has just the right tempo on an album that has plenty to offer.
Stephen Graham

Esmond Selwyn has been for some time, one of Britain's finest jazz guitarists. He grew up listening to Django Reinhardt, who his father saw
perform in the Thirties. His parents were both supportive and his father bought him a guitar in l958 when he was 10 years old. Although Django
was his primary influence, as he became more aware he moved on to Charlie Christian and other American jazz players. His first teacher was
Roy Toft a fine rhythm player who played with a rock band in the Hackney area of London where he lived and taught Esmond a lot of chords, and
after that he was accepted as a student by the great Ivor Mairants. His first album was called "Follow That" , the great Tony Mottola got to hear it
and sent Esmond a nice letter saying he had great "chops" . He also studied with Chuck Wayne and with George Van Eps when he toured the
UK in the l980's and early l990's. Esmond has played gigs all over the world and has had a busy career as a leader of his own trio and as a
sideman in many top British jazz groups. He has an Honours Degree in languages from Kings College London and is also a journalist and
guitar teacher. He has written two instructional books thatcome wi th DVD's. He has shared the bi l l at  international jazz festivals with Chick
Corea, Elvin Jones, and Charlie Byrd and has accompanied visiting American stars, Art Farmer, Redd Rodney, Bobby Shew, Al Cohn and
Jimmy Witherspoon. In the last 6 or 7 years Esmond has produced two high quality CD's. "The Axe" (SlamCD 265) is a 22 track album of solo
jazz guitar featuring all well known standards. Fifteen tracks were recorded in the studio and the rest were recorded live at the Wirral Guitar
Festival in the UK. His technique has it all, superb harmony, fast single line runs and good bass lines. Rarely have I heard solo jazz guitar like t
his, apart from masters like Joe Pass and Martin Taylor and the fact that there is 22 tracks of great standards. He is undoubtedly a guitarist
deserving wider attention. His latest CD "The Middle Half " (Slam DA287) recorded in Nov 2009 is a fine guitar/organ/drums album with eight
great standards. His playing on this was like listening to one of the great guitarists of the fifties, bebop lines, good arrangements and a great
tone from his ES 175 with a Charlie Christian pickup. His sound preserves a fine jazz guitar tradition not often heard these days. I cannot list
enough superlatives about Esmond, and I suggest you check him out through his webite for more information. www.esmondselwyn.com and
you can contact him on: esmondselwyn@btinternet.com
Ian Macgregor JGSWA, No. 135 April 2012