Guitarist Lawson Rollins’ imaginative “With the Wind” from the 'True North" album

The winds of change are upon us and while possessing the power of destruction, wind can also purify, refresh and foster renewal. It’s the latter that world music guitarist Lawson Rollins had in mind when composing “With the Wind,” the second single from the recently released “True North” album, a collection that the Billboard chart-topper wrote and produced marking his 20th anniversary as a recording artist. 

“‘With the Wind’ is an expression of energetic joyfulness. The song emerged out of improvisation - as songs often do for me - so the inspiration was spontaneous and enigmatic as the music flowed naturally, like the steady force of the wind,” said the San Francisco-based Rollins who was named by Guitar Player magazine as one of the “50 Transcedent Acoustic Guitarists” of all-time.

“With the Wind” follows the success of the album’s first single, “Bluewave Bossanova,” which went to No. 1 on the SmoothJazz.com chart, Top 10 on the Mediabase and Groove Jazz Music charts, and Top 30 on the Billboard and Radiowave Monitor charts. Opening with tribal percussion beats, “With the Wind” takes off on an exuberant flight. Rollins crafts whirling gusts of masterful acoustic guitar delivered at alacritous speed and technical brilliance, searing electric guitar accents and snappy beats at cadences that vacillate between a cascading and careening thrill ride mixed with deliberate and dramatic pauses seemingly to allow the listener the opportunity to catch their breath. The track is an eclectic escapade unlike any other recorded by Rollins, who was accompanied by Stephen Duros (additional keyboards and electric guitar), Dan Feiszli (bass) and Dave Bryant (drums and percussion).

Named by Jazziz magazine as one of the “10 Albums You Need to Know,” “True North” displays familiar Rollins’ hallmarks while introducing new and different elements. His prodigious fingerstyle guitar work remains the focal point of the tracks that stylistically serve a melange of contemporary jazz, world music, Latin and New Age sounds. On this outing, Rollins expands his repertoire by playing electric and slide guitars and steel string guitar alongside his signature classical Spanish nylon string acoustic guitar. He also adds textured synthesizer swatches. Known for embarking on lengthy improvisational explorations, Rollins keeps the tracks tightly focused on “True North,” exhibiting discipline and control.

Exotic travel and exhilarating adventure have long been Rollins’ primary thematic subjects, however, as pictured on the album cover and accompanying photography in the CD packaging, “True North” derives much of it’s geographic inspiration from a more familiar locale: Rollins’ favorite vacation spot on the Outer Banks in his home state of North Carolina.