Dowdle hopes his new CD will 'lift people's spirits'

Give Michael Dowdle a guitar, and he can — and does — play pretty much anything.

He's played as a studio musician on CDs of practically any genre you could name. He's done a series of his own interpretations of LDS hymns. He plays on stage with a variety of artists at concerts. He plays with dance bands and at weddings and company parties.

But there are times when he likes to just mellow out, to see where the music will take him. That's the sound you hear on his latest CD, "A Brighter Day."

It has something of a jazzy sound, "but it technically isn't jazz," he says. "It's more instrumental pop. Jazz has more of an improv feel. You play the melody and then everyone improvises their own takes on it." So, jazz can wander off anywhere and is never quite the same twice, he says.

"These songs are composed as songs. They have a structure," he says. "There is a jazzier sound. I use jazzier chords. But if true jazz guys listen to it, they know the difference."

Still, it has that soft, mellow, relaxing sound many people associate with smooth jazz.

It also marks a return to how Dowdle started his recording career. Back in 1989, he released his first album, "Touch." It was followed in the early '90s by "From the Hip" and "Soul Mate."

Some songs from those early albums have been rerecorded on "A Brighter Day," where they are joined by a variety of original songs.

He is joined on the CD by Todd Sorensen on percussion and Rob Honey on upright bass. The songs were recorded in trio format. There are no overdubs, as Dowdle has often done on his acoustic guitar albums. "This way makes it easier to record," he says jokingly. "We just get there and play it." In fact, he says, the album was recorded in two days. "Usually, we can make it go on for months and months."

But this style also gives the music more dimension, he says, and "a fresh, live feel."

That's one thing you will find with Dowdle — he's always looking for new and different ways to make music. His earlier jazzy albums were done with a full band, with synthesizer and sax, with a mix of electric and acoustic guitar. This is more of an "unplugged" version, a simpler product.

"The idea is to let the songs speak for themselves. We didn't want to doll them up with a lot of frills," he says. And, he hopes those songs speak a positive message. "I hope they will lift people's spirits, that they will help people reflect on what makes them happy. The songs all have a positive feel."