We’ve picked up a bit more information on Kenny Smith’s upcoming guitar CD. It will be titled Return, as in returning some old guitars to the studio, and is expected on Gat 3 Records in May.
Kenny has reunited the rhythm section from his seminal 1997 Studebaker album: Adam Steffey on mandolin and Barry Bales on bass. With Kenny (of course) on guitars, he has also added Aubrey Haynie on fiddle, and Adam Hurt and Jim Denman on banjo.
What has Kenny especially charged is the guitars he used to track Return in the studio. In addition to his own 1935 D-18, Kenny had the use of Norman Blake’s legendary 1933 sunburst D-28, and a very rare 1935 Gibson jumbo prototype, both through the generosity of a collector. The Blake guitar hasn’t seen the inside of a recording studio since the 1980s.
Glenn Tabor, Gat3’s chief engineer, tells us that the tones he was able to capture from these guitars in Kenny’s hands was marvelous to behold. Tabor has engineered the last two Kenny & Amanda Smith CDs, and Kenny has said that his guitar never sounded so good.
Return will contain a number of new Kenny Smith compositions, plus some traditional tunes, and is available for pre-order now on Kenny’s web site.
