On Chiaroscuro Ralph Towner employs classical, 12-string, and baritone guitars and Paolo Fresu plays trumpet and flugelhorn. Towner, who is best known as co-founder of the innovative band, Oregon, has played with Weather Report, Gary Burton, Keith Jarrett, and many others. Fresu has worked with numerous European and American musicians, including, Enrico Pieranunzi, Dave Holland, and Gerry Mulligan. The album’s title is apt since every plucked string and burnished brass tone stands in sharp contrast to the surrounding silences. “Punta Giara” is full of darting runs and Towner’s 12-string sound is unmistakable. “Sacred Place” and “Doubled Up” both find Towner on baritone guitar. The former piece is a solo effort that’s a sort of sophisticated take on folk music, while the latter cut brings out the two players’ jazzy side. Fresu’s muted horn sounds great on “Doubled Up,” as it does on a version of Miles Davis and Bill Evans’ “Blue In Green.” Fresu joins Towner for “Sacred Place (reprise)” and the album closes with “Postlude,” a moody improv.