Local bandleader Hector Qirko is best known for searing electric lead guitar lines as well as his namesake outfit's distinctive brand of smooth, jazz-inflected blues. But on his latest solo effort Wherever You Go , released on his own Blind Guru Recordings imprint, Qirko pushes the envelope of his personal muse with 12 tracks of mostly acoustic proto-country and mountain-style folk music. And having written or co-written all but one of the songs on Wherever (the lone exception being a cover of the Johnny Cash nugget “Cold Lonesome Morning”), he proves nearly as comfortable with the conventions of rural Appalachia as he is with those of urban blues.
The songs are anchored by Qirko's characteristically assured acoustic picking; his lead vocals are backed by local stalwarts Maggie Longmire and Steve Horton, while Mark Fain holds the bottom end on bass. But the star of the record ensemble-wise is sideman David Johnson, who switches off between fiddle, banjo, dobro, and mandolin. Johnson's wistful counter-melodies and traditional string lines are so precise and liltingly beautiful that he almost merits second billing. Maybe next time, because this foray into tradition-minded mountain music is so ravishing and confident in its execution that Qirko will almost assuredly repeat the experiment.