With the release of Heartwood, Lawson Rollins offers a melodically rich and rhythmically exhilarating set of songs that showcase his soulful connection to the guitar and his passion for unbridled six string acoustic artistry.
Across a wide ranging musical tapestry Lawson Rollins draws from the spirit of the heartwood of the guitar – his chosen instrument - and incorporates the stimulating rhythmic drive of rumba, bossa nova, and samba with graceful melodic finesse and free-flowing improvisational flair. Joining Lawson on the album are Grammy winning violinists Charlie Bisharat and Mads Tolling, veteran jazz saxophonist Mary Fettig, Brazilian percussionist Marquinho Brasil, virtuoso bassist Dan Feiszli, multi-instrumentalist Stephen Duros, keyboardist Michael Bluestein, cellist Joseph Hébert, and drummers Colin Douglas and Davo Bryant.
Billboard Top 10 ranked world music guitarist and composer, Lawson Rollins is described by Guitar Player Magazine as one of the “50 Best Acoustic Guitarists” of all time. Over the past 25 years, Lawson’s albums have landed in the Billboard Top 10 World Music Chart and spawned several Billboard Top 30 contemporary jazz hits, winning him an ever-growing fan base attracted by his melodic, fiery solos and exotic, cross-genre instrumentation performed by internationally renowned musicians. Acoustic Guitar Magazine describes his playing as "impeccable" and "dazzling" while Guitar Player writes, “Lawson Rollins is a bona fide star... The key to Rollins’ mass appeal is his signature artistic balance between classically influenced compositional refinement, infectious exotic rhythms, and the unbridled intensity of full-on shred.”