ProJazz.net

My Foolish Heart is a solo album by American guitarist Ralph Towner recorded in February 2016 and released on ECM a year later.

After a decade of acclaimed collaborations, Ralph Towner returns to one of his purest and most personal formats: solo guitar. My Foolish Heart is a quietly powerful statement, recorded in February 2016 at Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI and produced by longtime ECM collaborator Manfred Eicher.

Whether on classical guitar or 12-string, Towner’s touch is unmistakable—intimate, orchestral, and endlessly refined. Drawing from the lineage of his landmark solo recordings (Diary, Solo Concert, Ana, Anthem, Time Line), this album blends finely crafted new compositions with deep roots: two Oregon pieces (“Shard” and “Rewind”), a moving dedication to Paul Bley (“Blue As In Bley”), and a luminous reading of Victor Young’s standard “My Foolish Heart,” inspired by Bill Evans.

Critics have praised the album’s economy and emotional depth—music that feels both minimal and vast. Towner creates the illusion of multiple voices on a single instrument, weaving bass lines, inner harmonies, and crystalline melodies into a flowing, almost orchestral whole. Tracks like “Clarion Call” and “Biding Time” showcase his ability to make one guitar sound like many, while pieces such as “Pilgrim” and “I’ll Sing to You” bridge classical, jazz, and folk traditions with quiet drama and lyricism.

My Foolish Heart is not about virtuosity for its own sake—it’s about color, space, and suggestion, the art of saying more with less. A masterful, deeply evocative album from one of the great voices of the acoustic guitar. 💙

Track listing:
All compositions by Ralph Towner except as indicated
No. Title Length
1. “Pilgrim” 4:32
2. “I’ll Sing to You” 4:33
3. “Saunter” 5:01
4. “My Foolish Heart” (Victor Young) 4:14
5. “Dolomiti Dance” 4:24
6. “Clarion Call” 4:40
7. “Two Poets” 2:05
8. “Shard” 0:54
9. “Ubi sunt” 1:21
10. “Biding Time” 1:29
11. “Blues as in Bley” 3:54
12. “Rewind” 3:44

Personnel:
Ralph Towner — classical guitar, 12 string guitar

______________

Released: February 2017
Recorded: February 2016
Studio: Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI
Lugano, Switzerland
Length: 40:28
Label: ECM
ECM 2516
Producer: Manfred Eicher