TOM GUARNA “The Wishing Stones” featuring John Patitucci, Brian Blade & Jon Cowherd…

Tom Guarna – a guitarist whom DownBeat magazine has praised for the “emotion, tension, surprise and passion” in his music – assembled what he calls “a dream team” for The Wishing Stones, his seventh album as a leader, and his first for Destiny Records.

The album features Guarna leading a quartet with keyboardist Jon Cowherd, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, each player a renowned virtuoso and band leader in his own right.

The 11 hook-laced Guarna originals produced by the guitarist and performed with warmth and elan by his all-star quartet were beautifully engineered by George Shalda and captured at New York’s Sear Sound, the site of historic studio sessions for artists such as David Bowie and Wynton Marsalis.

The title of The Wishing Stones was inspired by a visit to Aruba and the Caribbean island’s Rock Wish Garden, which features thousands of stone structures that visitors have built over the years as totems on an out-of-the-way beach. “Each of these stacks of stones has a story – it’s amazing to see what people have built out of desires, aspirations and memories.”

Guarna explains: “I’d like my songs – my stacks of stones, as it were – to have a similar resonance with listeners. That’s been a goal as I evolve, to be more confident in how I convey emotion in music, whether it’s in the writing or the textures I create on the guitar. I want to get to the heart of the matter.”

Visit online at www.tomguarna.com