Chicagoan axe ace James Elkington and fellow top-tier fretboard fraterniser, Louisville’s Nathan Salsburg, reconnect for their latest suite of dazzling duo arrangements, influenced by celebrated guitarists including Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Steve Gunn and Jake Xerxes Fussell, classical minimalism and the allegorical spiritual writings of British author T. F. Powys.

Released by the ever-reliable Paradise of Bachelors imprint on April 12, All Gist melds sinuous melodies, breezy note clusters and tumbling folk arpeggios on originals such as ‘Numb Limbs’, ‘Long in the Tooth Again’ and ‘Death Wishes to Kill’, alongside a cache of absorbing cover versions – resplendently transformative takes on English composer Howard Skempton’s ‘Well, Well, Cornelius’, a composite of two traditional Breton dance tunes and, most remarkably, a singular instrumental recasting of Neneh Cherry’s pop-rap tour de force, ‘Buffalo Stance’ – encapsulating the pair’s abiding interests and far-reaching creative compass.

Discussing their inspired reading of ‘Buffalo Stance’, All Gist’s lead single, Salsburg recounts: “While playing a few rounds of the song for my toddler, I was struck by how fantastic some of its riffs are. I suggested to Jim that we work up an arrangement for two guitars. He was initially doubtful – it’s a lot of rapping – but within an hour he sent back a one-guitar demo of most of the constituent melodic elements. It sent me into paroxysms of joy, only exceeded by the eventual thrill of sitting down together and hammering out our version.”   

James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg’s All Gist will be released via Paradise of Bachelors on April 12 and reviewed in the June 2024 issue of Songlines