"I think a lot of today's instrumental music takes itself so seriously that it intimidates people - it's quite different from the great instrumentals I remember that were catchy, feel-good tunes with no pretense," observes guitarist Askold Buk. "My goal is to recapture that vibe by writing music that is as much fun to listen to as it is to play."

Buk certainly creates that mood on his eponymously-titled debut CD, which was featured on Groove Boutique (a nationally-syndicated soul/jazz radio show), and added to over 20 national and international jazz playlists. ("A.F.B." [Track 9 on the CD], was also included on the Philips/CMJ compilation CD Streamium.)

The CD has garnered great reviews, most notably from famed critic Nat Hentoff, who wrote: "Askold Buk plays with the passion born of complete mastery of his instrument so that - as Dizzy Gillespie once said of superior players - he knows what notes not to play. Buk communicates with great presence, but without showboating or otherwise indulging in technical virtuosity for its own sake."

Askold is no stranger to instrumental music - he has scored numerous episodes of the Emmy-winning PBS documentary series Frontline, as well as 20/20 (ABC), Primetime (ABC) and In Search of America (ABC). He wrote and produced the score to the documentary feature film Obscene, which premiered at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival. Buk's songs were featured on The Hills (MTV), P.O.V. (PBS) and New York 1. In 2008, he wrote the music for the permanent interactive installation at the Action Center Museum to End World Hunger in New York City.

Askold has also toured with Universal recording artist Hayley Westenra, recorded with jazz trumpeter Hugh Masakela, and developed a series of highly-acclaimed guitar videos where he interviewed and played with luminaries such as B.B. King, John Scofield, Albert Lee, Steve Morse, Jack Bruce and Hank Marvin. In addition, he is the author of The Advanced Guitar Case Chord Book (Music Sales) and Practical Pentatonics (Music Sales), which are distributed internationally.