Guitarist Harvey Valdes has a reputation for genre bending, and his debut trio album, PointCounterPoint, is seven tracks of rhythmically driven, countrapuntal action that draws from metal, jazz, atonality, noise and more.

Guitarist Harvey Valdes has a reputation for genre bending, and his debut trio album, PointCounterPoint, is seven tracks of

Guitarist Harvey Valdes has a reputation for genre bending, and his debut trio album, PointCounterPoint, is seven tracks of rhythmically driven, countrapuntal action that draws from metal, jazz, atonality, noise and more.

Guitarist Harvey Valdes has a reputation for genre bending, and his debut trio album, PointCounterPoint, is seven tracks of rhythmically driven, countrapuntal action that draws from metal, jazz, atonality, noise and more. These angular tunes feature Sana Nagano on violin, Joe Hertenstein on drums, and Valdes on seven string guitar. Valdes’ intervallic writing creates a tapestry of consonance and dissonance that is grounded in odd time and syncopation. Valdes and Nagano weave atonal melodies into improvisations, while Hertenstein holds the trio tight in his pocket. Valdes’ heavy, distorted sound pulsates with urgency throughout this inspiring, intelligent, and intense debut.

featuring: Harvey Valdes - Guitar/Compositions Sana Nagano - Violin Joe Hertenstein - Drums

recorded by Tom Tedesco at Tedesco Studios mixed by Aaron Nevezie at The Bunker Studio mastered by David Torn artwork by Steve Byram

Harvey Valdes steps away from jazz guitar tradition to craft a sound all his own. His adventurous take on harmony creates many moments of spontaneous re-composition born of a free improvisational approach.

"Harvey Valdes has produced a beautiful solo guitar CD. His sound and approach are reminiscent of Lenny Breau and Ted Greene, but Harvey has

Harvey Valdes steps away from jazz guitar tradition to craft a sound all his own. His adventurous take on harmony creates many moments of spontaneous re-composition born of a free improvisational approach.

"Harvey Valdes has produced a beautiful solo guitar CD. His sound and approach are reminiscent of Lenny Breau and Ted Greene, but Harvey has his own voice. He has a bell-like legato tone and a unique take on chords and voice leading in the context of familiar standards. Harvey has taken old chestnuts and reinterpreted them in a very personal way to make them his own. Highly recommended.” - John Stowell

"With the release of Roundabout, guitarist Harvey Valdes brings a new meaning to solo guitar. If you don’t know Harvey, get to know him. You won’t be sorry”. - Dom Minasi

I’ve been a fan of Harvey Valdes for a while now. He’s a beautiful guitarist, and always has a knack for finding the most unexpected and surprising, but very unusually appropriate, musical contributions in a given situation. Its great to hear him interpret these nine standards on Roundabout. He brings his fresh harmonic conception and original approach to these tunes as he reimagines them, and uses the standards as a starting point for his organic explorations and abstractions. Really fine solo guitar work here!  - Kenny Wessel 

"On Roundabout, Harvey Valdes creates depth and contrast with his use of tone color and unique choice of textures." - Jon Damian

On Roundabout, NY guitarist and composer, Harvey Valdes, steps away from jazz guitar tradition to craft a sound all his own. Using a finger style approach and a sense of felt time, Valdes effortlessly plays with multiple voices and complex counterpoint. His adventurous take on harmony creates many moments of spontaneous re-composition born of a free improvisational approach. Each track shines with the originality and sensitivity of Harvey’s voice. While Roundabout as a whole, takes a pianistic approach to radically reshaping jazz standards. In doing so, Harvey, elevates the interpretive possibilities of the guitar itself.