The idea for "Artie Traum's" latest Narada offering, "Meetings With Remarkable Friends," came from a musician friend of Artie's that suggested he do a collection of duets with the musicians he knows. The resulting album features 14 original acoustic guitar compositions with a twist. On each track, Artie has invited different musicians into the studio to jam with him. The results are in some cases quite rewarding.

In line with the style of music Narada puts out, this is not an album that you will have cranked full blast in your car while driving at breakneck speeds through rush hour traffic. However, when you're looking to close your eyes and relax while basking in the musical dialogue spoken by artists that are virtuosos in their craft, this album proves to be a rather good listen.

The first special guest to make an appearance is pianist Warren Bernhardt. Bernhardt's piano provides a fitting accompaniment to Traum's picking on the first track, "Long Journey," which flows along like a summer breeze. The backing vocals of Leslie Ritter add a textured feel to the overall effect. Bernhardt is also featured later on in the album on a track called "Serpa." His poignant piano playing, and Traum's evocative guitar, combine to create a dirge-like effect.

Fans of the mandolin will also find something they like on this album. Not one but two mandolin players participate on this album at one point or another. The first, David Grisman, picks the mandolin like it's a part of him on the wistful "Golden Gate Fog." Later on, the funky bluegrass number "Butternut" not only has Sam Bush demonstrating his mandolin skills, but also features Bela Fleck turning in some fine banjo work.

On the laid-back "Fourteen Turtles," Traum trades acoustic guitar licks with John Sebastian, who also adds some catchy harmonica work to the piece. Where "Fourteen Turtles." and others on the album could be called folk music, Traum mixes it up a bit when he's joined in the studio by guitarist Laurence Juber on "Swing Shift." In a song which features nothing but the two of them playing acoustic guitars, they crank out a pretty impressive bluesy piece. It seems to send the message that this album is not about the style, but about the music, and everyone on it is on the same page.

On the aptly titled "Catskill Thunder," which manages to capture the quiet rumblings of a mountain storm, Traum is helped out by the somber violin of Jay Unger and the raindrop steady bass of Molly Mason. It's difficult when doing an album of nothing but acoustic guitar melodies to keep each song sounding different and exciting. I think the collaboration with musicians like Molly and Jay really serves Traum well on this album.

Two other tracks I feel deserve mention here, if nothing else than for the purpose of name-dropping, are "Mean Low Water" and "Yankee Swamp." "Mean Low Water" features Traum jamming with Adrian Belew on a track which, though not one of the best tracks on the album, give fans of Adrian Belew yet another chance to hear him in action.

"Yankee Swamp," on the other hand, features a phenomenal backing band (keyword here being Band). On this track, Artie is joined by Levon Helm, on drums and harmonica, Rick Danko on bass, Garth Hudson on keyboards, and Jim Weider on dobro (collectively known, minus Robbie Robertson, as The Band). This funky offering is probably the heaviest (at least soundwise) of the tracks on the album. It's enjoyable to listen to Traum and Weider matching each other note for note as they journey their way through the composition.

Fans of acoustic guitar in general, and Artie Traum in particular, should really enjoy his latest offering. Those who don't normally listen to acoustic music might like some of the pairings offered on this album anyway. Listening to an album like this makes me wonder why there aren't more collaborations recorded. Ah well, if I were a record producer, I'd do things differently. Course in a perfect world, I'd also be married to Jewel...