by Scott YanowBefore he toured South America and discovered bossa nova, guitarist Charlie Byrd already had his recognizable sound formed. A master on the acoustic guitar who was well trained in classical music, Byrd performed regularly in Washington D.C. from 1958-60, recording for the tiny Offbeat label. This CD reissue of a set originally on Offbeat and then put out by Riverside features Byrd and his regular trio (with bassist Keter Betts and drummer Buddy Deppenschmidt) performing concise versions of eight jazz standards, including two songs under two minutes, and longer versions of three obscurities, plus The House of the Rising Sun. The melodic music is pleasing (if not too substantial), predictable and reasonably enjoyable, with the highlights including Moonlight In Vermont, Nuages, Django and the lengthy Taboo.