Described as an album of music for steel string acoustic guitar, chamber strings, bass and percussion, Counterclockwise is the result of four years of intense labor by Long Island guitarist Rich Stein. Having earned much praise for his two earlier album of predominantly solo acoustic guitar works, Stein takes his love of the guitar and modern classical and celtic flavored music to the next level with Counterclockwise. Commenting on the album, Stein adds, ‘This recording is about the guitar as part of a larger ensemble–sometimes with strings, sometimes with percussion, often with both. The added players on the recording are all masters of their trade. The end result speaks for itself.’ With Stein’s acoustic guitar sharing the spotlight with solo and ensemble strings, the instrumental music palate is further accented by Stein’s additional performance on keyboards, mandolin, violin, electric sitar, bass and ebow guitar. Stein’s trusty Santa Cruz OM and Taylor 512 provide the acoustic power for the entire Counterclockwise project, while a number of other gifted classical players add further sparkle to this modern masterpiece of acoustic guitar-based Americana / classical music. www.clearsteer.com

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