Letters from Joubee

by William RuhlmannArtie Traum made a new age album with this collection of acoustic guitar-led instrumentals. The musical styles varied from the folk-pop lead-off track, "She's Riding Again," which sounded like a lost James Taylor song minus the vocals, to "Quiet Volcano," which boasted a light, melodic jazz-fusion sound and "Light Across The Harbor," which had the evocative feel of much acoustic new wave music. Traum usually used four or five backup musicians, but his guitar-playing, frequently featuring the fingerpicking of nylon strings, was the gentle leading sound.