Jens Hausmann is a German guitarist with 30 years of professional experience under his belt. He has played every style from classical to folk and jazz, with side tours through blues and rock, pop and Latin and flamenco. These days he's concentrating on fingerpicked nylon string guitar.

And he is nothing less than a master. Precious Moments is a master class in fingerstyle guitar. Recorded directly into two microphones, with no overdubs, no punching in or editing, the album features folk, classical, Latin, blues and world music compositions.

It's an album that relies on Hausmann's gifts and skills for its effects, rather than production magic. Here, the magic is in the playing. Hausmann's tone is sharp and clear, his intonation perfect, and his playing is always appropriate to the tune. In instrumental guitar albums, the writing is important, and Hausmann's writing and arranging are the fuel that blasts his explorations into the outer space of original composition. He depends a lot on improvisation, something you don't often see in classical music, but then not all of his music is classical, though it all has that feel. For just a single guitar, the variety on the album is remarkable.

This one will spend a lot of time in your player.