Kansas-born acoustic guitarist Jim McAuley has spent most of the last 40 years in Los Angeles, sustaining himself by studio playing (for Como and Sinatra) and in more recent years by teaching and playing improvised music (which means that most of the money came from teaching). This is the definition of obscurity, considering he’s only done one previous recording under his own name. Vancouver’s Drip Audio has come to the rescue and released this two-CD set of duo improvisations with the late violinist Leroy Jenkins, guitarist Nels Cline, bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Alex Cline. The music explores a variety of private worlds, almost naked in its intimacy, beautifully imperfect and full of surprise – in other words, a gem.