Following the release of his 2021 Grammy-winning More Guitar Stories, and its follow up Ka Honua Maluhia (Peaceful World), Hawaii’s favorite Haole guitar hero Jim "Kimo" West returns to the music world again with an all-new album of guitar-centric tracks called Of Wood And Spirit, subtitled American Guitar Stories.  The third album in Kimo’s Guitar Stories series, the 2023 release Of Wood And Spirit finds the guitarist / composer broadening his musical palette with a Trip-tik array of all-original, guitar-centric sounds that blends a wealth of instrumental American music influences. While Kimo’s Slack-key guitar is still on the album, the Hawaiian guitar influences are somewhat subdued, with the album instead accenting sound styles from various geographical locations in the continental United States.

“Ghost Town Waltz” evokes a lonely kind of ethereal vibe and, as Kimo points out in the album liner notes, “The American West is known for its many ghost towns”. “One Sierra Morning” sends a sonic postcard from Highway 395 in the vicinity of California’s Eastern Sierra mountains. With its influences from Haiti, France and Africa, “Under The Voodoo” winds up images of the hot and humid city of New Orleans. “Wind In The Canyon” boasts effects from American Indian music, while the banjo groove of “A Griot In Memphis” summons up African Griot music by way of the American south and much more.

“Circle Of Friends” is dedicated to American music historian Dave “Fess” Bourne, while “Emryn’s Song" was penned by Kimo for the daughter of his Hawaiian friends. “When Water Dreams” is inspired by what happens when water turns to snow, with each snowflake forming a different crystal pattern, while the track 9 album-closer, “A Love That Forgives” remembers a time to forgive no matter what the horrible committed crime was.

Supporting Kimo’s multilayered performances on acoustic slack key and electric guitars, Weissenborn guitar, mandola, finger cymbals, acoustic, baritone and soprano guitars, Moog guitar, synth pads, orchestration, six string banjo, prepared guitar, Martin tenor guitar, electric baritone guitar and keyboards, on Of Wood And Spirit Kimo teams up with top players including Greg Leisz (pedal steel), Jimmy Johnson (fretless bass), Gabe Witcher (violin), MB Gordy (percussion), Michael Manring (fretless bass), Ken Emerson (lap steel), Charlie Bisharat (violin), Simone Vitucci (cello), Dan Lutz (upright bass), Ron Korb (native flute), Mike Witcher (dobro), David Naiditch (chromatic harmonica) and Robert “Bobomatic” West (blues harmonica).

As noted before, Of Wood And Spirit does indeed differ somewhat sound-wise from the Hawaiian instrumental sound of Kimo’s previous albums, including his most recent releases, reflecting a more essential Americana sound that blends in a number of home-grown domestic influences. A tasty addition to the artist's impressive repertoire of albums, start to finish the nine-track, 38-minute album is unmistakable in its sound and if anything; the broad diversity of the tracks on Of Wood And Spirit charts a fresh course for Jim “Kimo” West, one that uncovers innovative layers of unexpected musical inspirations that longtime fans will find equally captivating.