Peter O'Mara - My Time (2012)

Guitarist Peter O'Mara's is a soft, round tone that spreads across the jazz mainstream on My Time. This soft ambiance is further buffeted by Tim Collins' vibraphone as harmony instrument. Color is added via the careful cymbal craft of drummer Matthias Gmelin. Bassist Henning Sievert's roll is both tactile and implied, his soloing elegant.

O'Mara is respectful of the standards, as on his lengthy reading of "I Concentrate On You" and the dusky-toned "'Round Midnight." O'Mara's originals are as inventive as they are uncluttered by mean displays of blank virtuosity. O'Mara plays the notes necessary, avoiding a crowded and busy solo space. O'Mara's "Waltz for Vivian" is airy and refined, given ethereal life by Collins' bubbling vibes. My Time is a gentle survey of standards and originals that is readily listenable and enjoyable. ~C. Michael Bailey