Talent drips off of some people, leaving a trail of sound that creates awe and leaves jaws dangling on the ground. Take Keller Williams. He plays a custom ten-string guitar that allows him to play bass and melody lines simultaneously a la mode Charlie Hunter. On top of that feat, via his mouth he is able to emulate brass instruments like the trumpet and flueglehorn. If that isn't enough, Keller has a mellifluous voice that rings with sweetness. Like I said, some people have a plethora.

Keller's talent and awe-inspiring antics gives him the freedom to bounce around genres with relative ease. He can play jazz, funk, bluegrass, reggae and folk all with mastery.

On his previous releases, Keller documented his one-man band style with elan and success. Now, with his latest release "Breathe", a different approach was taken. Rather than doing the album solo, he enlisted the talents of the equally talented and eclectic String Cheese Incident to add ornamentation and flesh to his works.

The result is an album that is compelling and ingenious. It may not be the place to discover Keller Williams or the String Cheese Incident, but it is a musical adventure across this globe of ours that can stand on its own.

Musically, "Breathe" is a trip through the opulent lands of musical sounds. Constantly, from song to song and even within songs, genres are being traversed: musical idioms of exotic lands explored.

"Breathe", the title track may be the finest exemplary of this comment. There is a vague resemblance to Phish found in the beginning. Then suddenly tablas and hammered dulcimer give the song a unique middle-eastern sound, twisting and turning the listener through the typical jam band sound to the outskirts of Saudi Arabia. Just breathe, that's all, just breathe.

After "Breathe", "Roshambo" an instrumental track is bound to grab your attention. As if the listener needed more evidence of Keller's talent, this track features him teamed with Michael Travis. With Keller's one of a kind picking, the two create a funk instrumental that is bound to get you dancing. Continuing the global trip analogy, coming after "Breathe", it is like the listener has been flown immediately back to New Orleans, circa Mardi Gras.

The sojourn continues, this time to the hills of Kentucky with "Lightning". No album featuring the String Cheese Incident or Keller could be complete without a bluegrass romp. The piece is just that, except for another esoteric addition. Travis, String Cheese Incident's drummer, has a talking drum and some African percussion keeping the rhythm. Imagine, if you can Bill Monroe performing in Africa with a drum circle.

To close the album, your trip ends in Kingston, Jamaica with the infectious reggae of "Callalloo and Red Snapper". So the lyrics aren't the best, almost like David Lindley, still it is a miraculous piece of music considering what has just transpired. After the last strains of reggae emanate from your speakers, the listener is left in awe, desirous for more. Yet there is more, at least one more song. At exactly 4:20 on your CD player on track thirteen, a secret track starts. The sound is hip-hop, or that is the only description I could conjure up for this piece. It is as if Keller needed to show just one more element, one more piece from his arsenal. This song is ineffable, but a feeble attempt would be to say it sounds a bit like acoustic Medeski Martin and Wood with DJ Logic sitting in (Keller, with his mouth makes DJ scratching sounds).

"Breathe" is an amazing album for the ears and mind. Continually you will catch yourself looking over at the speakers, wondering if the CD players switched to Phish, then David Lindley or some African Drumming. This is a true testament to Keller's enormous talent and his desire to redefine the definition of a folk singer. Breathe, put on this album and enjoy the diversity of Keller Williams and the String Cheese Incident as they take you on a trip around the world in sixty one minutes.