Second Nature

As part of Sting's band, guitarist Dominic Miller sometimes gets overlooked. Even though the 40-year-old has the looks of a lean, shaggy-haired, Strat-toting youngster, he seems to get a little taken for granted in his role as guitar factotum. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the recent string of Sting gigs at the Albert Hall in which he was also accompanied by such jazz luminaries as keyboardist Jason Rebello and trumpeter Chris Botti. Now Miller's second solo album has arrived and it's time for him to take the spotlight. 'Second Nature' shows a very different side of this versatile Buenos Aires-born musician. Although Miller may have spent years playing rock'n'roll as a session player, his own music owes a huge debt to his Brazilian heroes Antonio Carlos Jobim and Baden Powell, and as a result the 12 songs here sing of South America - ringing, lyrical numbers plucked and strummed by a guitarist who remains true to his roots. The Time