This is pianist Kurt Bestor’s ninth album, but I have to admit it’s a first for me. I was very excited about it, as it gave me a chance to review a non-Tesh album featuring violinist, Charlie Bisharat - one of my very favorite musicians and performers. Charlie plays on only two cuts, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying the entire CD, and have played it over and over. Bassist Michael Manring is also prominently featured on most of the pieces. The cuts are so varied that the album almost sounds like a compilation of various artists, yet it is held firmly together by the theme of celebrating the genius of artists, inventors, explorers, and writers whose dreams and musings were first recorded as “sketches”. With inspiration coming from such a varied selection of heroes as Thoreau; Stradivarius; former slave Sojourner Truth; Audubon; television’s inventor, Philo T. Farnsworth; and Native American Olympic gold-medalist Billy Mills; it is no wonder that the album has such an impressive palette of musical styles. It goes from the country/folk bounce of “Expedition” to a glistening peacefulness in “Fishing the Sky”; “Stradivarius” has a very classical flavor with soaring strings; “Mama, Don’t You Weep” is a classic spiritual. “A Romance With Electrons” has the sweep of a soundtrack to a movie featuring a farm with gently swaying fields on a warm afternoon. “On Pastel Wing” is the only piano solo, and it is gorgeous - very peaceful and moving. From there, we move on to “Faces On a Fresco”, which opens with Gregorian Chant and flows into a lilting piece that features recorders, flute, and cello - I really like this piece! “From Leonardo’s Sketchbook” is a light-hearted frolic celebrating DaVinci’s sketch of a flying machine. “Windrunner” features Native American drums and vocals, and carries a feeling of both sadness and triumph. Sketches closes this impressive set as a tribute to all of those lives celebrated in the music as well as an homage to sketching itself. It is mostly piano with a few background instruments delicately accompanying Bestor. I give this one two thumbs and a big toe up - sure to be on my top-ten for ‘97!