One man and his jazz guitar. That would be Dave McCullough. He's from El Paso, Texas and this is his third independently released album.There are standards contained here, as you would expect, like "Misty" and "Summertime" and they are handled slickly.  It is not often, however, that a version of "For Martha" makes an appearance on a jazz guitar album whilst a brief but respectful run through John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" takes us out of the album.You can't fault the man's playing and the 7 string guitar is interesting tonally. The only issue that we have is that it is all a bit too polite. Everybody does standards and you have to take chances - or is it liberties - if people are going to remember your version. There is nothing here to dislike but it would have been nice to hear Mr McCullough stretch himself more.

Review by:   Bluesbunny

El Paso, Texas guitarist David McCullough submitted his CD-R recording, David McCullough Trio, a straight-ahead jazz album he recorded in 2003 with Rene Sandoval (alto sax) and Agapito Sanchez (percussion). The six instrumentals have a nice, laid-back feel, many featuring Brazilian or bossa nova rhythms and harmonies. McCullough trades many of the melodic lines with Sandoval, generating a solid accompaniment when not called upon to solo or carry the main theme. The faster tempo tracks such as "Impressions" and "Scrapple From The Apple" contained the most harmonic interest and quality solo ideas, but his CD-R was enjoyable from start to finish. McCullough's single-minded devotion to jazz certainly helped him make a compelling album.

David started playing guitar at the age of ten, taking lessons with various local instructors and studying mostly classical guitar. However, on his thirteenth birthday, his parents bought him an electric guitar. The classical guitar was never seen again. For the next five years, David worked on learning how to play rock guitar. In 1987, he attended G.I.T. in Hollywood, and while there, started listening to jazz. Ever since that time, David has spent all his time studying jazz.
McCullough's musical direction these days has everything to do with having fun and playing what he hears.
-Guitar 9 Records

Pharr
Dave McCullough
A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange ?by Mark S. Tucker?(progdawg@hotmail.com).

Being an aficionado of Earl Klugh, old George Benson, Gabor Szabo, Louis Kabok , and every jazz gent who could strip a song down to its basics and make it sing all the more brightly in its shining core, I immediately took to this short and simple solo guitar (sometimes doubled up) jazz recital by Dave McCullough. Though he keeps it mostly slow and easy, the guy's nonetheless doing much of what Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, and Grant Green had crafted so many years ago, but somewhat more in line with Charlie Byrd. This 8-song collection is so well wrought, in fact, that not only is every note and chord crucial but the very spaces between are just as considered and complementary.
The hallowed standards are hallowed and are standards for a reason. No matter how often you hear them, unless performed by a brickbrain, they remain fresh and innovative, often encapsulations of their times, so when you see Summertime, Misty, and Giant Steps are among the offerings in Pharr, don't even begin to think "Oh geez, not again!" or you'll be depriving yourself of a treat. The sensitivities and interpretations here preserve the full intent of the originals while throwing McCullough's talent for perfect voicing and inflection into the equation. I'm a sucker for cover CDs, and when buying one, always fervently hope for a gentle snowfall of good fortune; here, an avalanche descended. It's exceedingly rare to catch work this brilliant. A couple of times, he switches out the gorgeously and discreetly swingin' melodious for a fling or two, as in Giant Steps, losing nothing in the process, demonstrating a burning prowess obviously extending well beyond the highly polished selections.
Were I to catch McCullough at a posh dinner spot or nightclub, I'd keep ordering food and drinks just to hear him, and they'd have to crowbar me out the door at closing time, protesting all the way. Despite whatever embarrassments I might cause myself, I'd happily deploy such antics, as this disc of only 25 minutes is just too heartbreakingly brief, every micron of it worthy of Blue Note or CTI. If you caught Jake Shimabukoro's or Mimi Fox's solo work of late, Pharr slots right in with those in terms of drop-dead absolute modern classicality. The guy is a master.
Track List:
    •    Summertime
    •    Just Friends
    •    Beautiful Mess
    •    Misty
    •    For Martha
    •    There is no Greater Love
    •    Cherokee
    •    Giant Steps
Edited by: David N. Pyles?(dnpyles@acousticmusic.com)