Ottawa Xpress

Between his non stop work as a producer (Jim Byrnes, Jenny Whiteley), collaborative musician (Zubot and Dawson, Great Uncles of the Revolution) and sideman, (Kelly Joe Phelps, Gil Scott- Heron, David Lindley), it's a wonder Steve Dawson has any fresh material to cultivate. Fortunately, the creative well runs deep: "We Belong To The Coast", his second solo outing, is an inventive trove of contemporary roots gold, its flickering fusion of country blues and folk seasoned with hints of jazz, and Hawaiian spice. Bold and reverent, he expertly walks the hazy line between the past and the present, switching gears from hazy 30's Django jazz to beat bathed chamber folk in a heartbeat. As a writer and guitarist, Dawson appreciates what precious few guitarists- from Chet Atkins and Leo Kottke through to Norman Blake and Jerry Douglas- understood from day one: flash fades, but taste endures.

(4 stars)

-Steve Baylin