With an all-star lineup of seasoned studio pros backing him up including Victor Wooten and Art Neville, Theriot lays down eleven tracks of sophisticated blues that blurry the line between jazz and blues. Demonstrating an uncanny maturity in judgement on Highway 90, Theriot's presence is always tactful and balanced. This maturity usually does not develop for many musicians until later in their careers, if at all. Shane's focus is on creating good music and not imposing guitar technicianry on the listener, though his playing is very refined and his scope is comprehensive. Theriot's style is developed more around thoughtful phrasing, counterpoint, and tactical changes than on speedy technique. The result is good for the listener. Theriot covers a lot of ground in his phrasing with a broad vocabulary that does not repeat itself, happily avoiding this pitfall that many guitarists fall into. Any musician who has ever ventured an attempt can appreciate the effort that it takes to develop and execute a coherent and appealing repertoire of chops that spans an entire album without repetition. And, Shane can move with the changes like a jazz ninja master running blindfolded across a catwalk on a windy, moonless night. He is that deft, subtle, and silky smooth.

Shane Theriot embraces progressive jazz-blues with his own, unique style and character. Theriot is reminiscent to me of Jimmy Smith in his blues stylisms (but this might just be Johnny Neel on the Moog) and Michael Lee Firkins in that Theriot has a distinctive (New Orleans) accent to his style that is analogous to Firkins with his Southwestern flavor. In addition to achieving a distinctive flavor, Shane also shares coverage of "The Street Beater" (the theme from Sanford And Son TV series) with Michael Lee Firkins. Theriot is also a little similiar to Greg Howe in his seemless presentation of melodies that he integrates with subtle grace, though I would say that Theriot's melodies are more subdued, low-keyed, and understated which actually makes them better the more you listen to them.

The highlights for me on Highway 90 were the grooving "It Ain't My Fault", reminiscent to me of Greg Howe's "Just Kiddin'" in the concept of capturing a human attitude in music; the catchy "Highway 90"; the well-covered standard, "The Street Beater"; the tasteful and delightfully surprising "Punch"; and the uplifting "1321 N. Las Palmas" with its well-fealt melody. There is a lot of good stuff here folks!

What I liked about Highway 90 is that it was sophisticated enough to keep a musician's attention, but it also possessed an accessibility that makes it appealing to a wider audience. Shane Theriot's objective is obviously not blazing-fast, shredding fretboard work on Highway 90. But, there is a lot of enjoyable music laden with tactful counterpoint, thematic development, and silky transitions on this CD that makes it worthwhile. Theriot is a polished player with a good sense for musicality and integrating his guitar work with other talented players. Highway 90 is consistent in its quality and is solid from start to finish. Theriot's subtle style and presence grows on you the more you listen to it, which is a great achievement in itself. And, like the movie Shane, Theriot is a quiet, low-keyed visitor that is packing just a little more heat and potency than anybody might see right away, unless they were paying close attention. Shane Theriot is definitely an emerging talent with style and character by the bushel. I look forward to hearing more from him.