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Far & Wide, the debut album by U.K. jazz guitarist Andreas Hagiioannu (pronounced “hajianu”), rings with warm, lyrical tones and clean, crisp licks. Backed on a little over half the tracks by bassist Dirk Griffin and drummer Alan Savage, the album swings in an unpretentious groove as Hagiioannu explores harmonic alcoves and melodic trysts.

Hagiioannu wrote all of the album’s tracks, and co-produced it with Simon Bramley. While the cover lists 14 cuts in all, there’s a 15th phantom track tucked in at the end, appropriately titled, Hidden Road. And like Hidden Road, one of the treats of the album are the half dozen solo cuts, mostly micro brief, serving more as musical appetizers than full-fledged compositions, but no less enticing for that.

Hagiioannu,  who is also a published author on literary topics with Palgrave Macmillan and Oxford University Press Journals, began studying the guitar at age nine, and lists Pat Metheny and Kenny Burrell among his major influences. Indeed, this CD is not jazz-light for the Bensonesque: this is dedicated jazz, handled lightly by a thoughtful guitarist, and there’s a big difference. If one still wishes that at times he took a few more musical risks, he can’t be faulted for authenticity.

The cuts with full trio range from the swinging opener, Monsieur Reynard, to the slightly more contemplative Persis the Beloved. At times Savage’s drums come on a bit too strong, and threaten to overpower the subtle mix, but not so much so that they become a true nuisance. The big trio number, however, is The Gambetta, which takes off with hopping rhythm and simple virtuosity as Hagiioannu flies across the scales.

But the bigger pleasures of the album, for me, came with the smaller numbers: the little winks and whispers that are Hagiioannu’s solo cameos. Tunes like Martha or Sundial bask in the warmth of a lazy afternoon. At only one minute, twenty-nine seconds, Newborn leaves a baby-powder scent of fingerpicking guitar that lasts long after the fade out. The veiled Hidden Road meanders gently down a path less traveled. Put this on with two fingers of neat Scotch at sunset, and call me in the morning.