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Galen Weston: The Space Between

For his followup to his acclaimed debut, 2015’s Plugged In, Toronto guitarist-composer Galen Weston recruited producer Steve Rodby, former longtime bassist in Pat Metheny’s band, to help him get to the next level. 

Weston’s chops have been honed to a fine edge, as you can hear on tunes like the swaggering opener “Chicago Nights,” the urgent “New Funk Tune,” the slamming, hip-hop flavored “Elements” and the churning Afro-Cuban burner “McQueen,” which is fueled by Cuban percussionist Michel Brindis Medrano’s polyrhythmic undercurrent and also features the guitarist channeling his inner Carlos Santana on top of the percolating groove. Elsewhere on The Space Between, Weston wails authoritatively with a blues-drenched solo on the mellow “Skyline” and absolutely kills on the upbeat “All Starz Funk,” which sounds right out of the Robben Ford-Larry Carlton school of tasty guitar soloing.