If you are a guitarist, this past month of performances will either inspire you to increase your hours of practice or to smash your guitar into a million pieces in frustration after being either encouraged or overwhelmed by what you’ve taken in. Here it is, just into January, and fret fans have had the chance to see (take a deep breath) Lee Ritenour, Johnny Rivers, Howard Alden, Robben Ford, and Andy McKee, who just last week threw down the guitar gauntlet at the very same Smothers Theatre that brought the dynamic duo of Tommy Emmanuel and Martin Taylor for a two night shootout that created fingerpicking heaven.
Emmanuel opened up the three hour evening by himself and using his guitar to mix folk, gospel, boogie, ragtime, bluegrass, blue WITHOUT grass, swing and even modern pop. While singing with joyful authority on classic Americana such as “Nine Pound Hammer” and “Sixteen Tons,” Emmanuel spellbound the audience with a percussive guitar technique on every millimeter of the guitar to create a mix of melody and rhythm. A tribute to Chet Atkins on “Mr. Guitar” and “To Be Or Not to Be” (“In the key of B” he joked) melded a back porch casualness and deceptive simplicity, while on a rockabilly piece he did more things to the guitar neck with his fingertips than a local chiropractor. Yes, he’s got unbelievable chops, and believes at times that the shortest distance between two points is a line of 64th notes, but as on his take of “Classical Gas,” he uses it as would a Renoir who mixes large strokes with a myriad of tiny strokes to increase the image taken in.
For the second set, Martin Taylor (is that a perfect name for a guitarist? What’s his middle name? Gibson?) joined the party and brought in his jazz chops that worked so well on their latest cd collaboration. They opened by literally swinging for the fences on the bopping “Bernie’s Tune” and “Jersey Bounce.” The glorious display of contrasting approaches to the axe was in vivid display as Taylor used effleurage as a juxtaposition to Emmanuel’s digital karate chops on a reading of “A Smooth One” that was as fluffy as a chocolate creme puff. In the spotlight, Taylor displayed his lyricism and sophisticatedly understated melodicism on pieces such as “I’m Old Fashioned” and the multi-hued “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” Mixing bass and melody lines at a single bound on “I Got Rhythm,” Martin’s gentlemanly approach served as an impressive foil to the extroverted Aussie.
But who knew that the show would be stolen away by a 12 year old kid? Out from stage left comes unassuming Joshua King, fresh out of studying for Middle School, and he pulls out a harmonica and wails on the sucker for a pair of rollicking Chicago-styled blues such as “Blues In My Sleep.” The guitarists fed him chords like red meat to a ravenous lion as King sang like he’s lived a full life before puberty and played like he was born on the streets. Where’d THIS kid come from?!?
Sending King home since it was a school night, Emmanuel and Martin closed with a festive calypso and Emmanuel made his guitar gently weep on a medley of Beatle tunes. Few times do you see and hear artists that thoroughly enjoy their craft as these two gents, impressing the packed house with combining wit, technical acuity and lyricism in a way that is rarely reached these days. Emmanuel’s name literally means “God with us,” and heavenly inspiration was sent from above with musical messages from the 12 strings translated like the Rosetta Stone by these masters.
Upcoming to Pepperdine is soul/gospel vocalist Mavis Staples.