By DON S, OKAMOTO
Published: March 4 1999

This Arkansas 12-string virtuoso plays fast and loose - self-invented tunings, startling rhythmic shifts - as he bangs the body, manhandles the strings and massages every twist out of his jazzy melodies. His whiplash dexterity will snare attention from Leo Kottke devotees, but it also fuels the tension that allows his songs to build where others merely blather.