Josef Woodard, News-Press Correspondent
Mark Atkinson (right) with Chris Frye (left) performed an outstanding set heavily reminiscent of of the late, great, gypsy-jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.
BRYAN WALTON/NEWS-PRESS
September 16, 2006 8:56 AM
When the Victoria, BC-based Marc Atkinson Trio dropped down for a show at SOhO on Wednesday as part of a mostly Northern California tour, those in the know knew to expect warmth and technical finesse.
Those of us as-yet unfamiliar with Atkinson's work came expecting at least a pleasant break from hump day malaise.
Instead, the show was one of those sneak attacks of midweek musical prowess in town. Acoustic guitarist Atkinson's name is now etched in this listener's must-hear-again mental file.
Atkinson is undeniably a versatile player, who can slip into contemporary acoustic guitar mode, play adaptations of classical pieces and apply other twists. He's got enough folk feeling to play mandolin in the respected Canadian "new acoustic" band, The Bills, among other associations.
Still, he is most impressive as an agreeably imitative of guitarist who worships at the legacy of the late, great, gypsy-jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.
When the trio launched into Reinhardt's version of "I'll See You in My Dreams" or the Ellingtonia of "The Mooch" and a funked-up version of "Caravan," the Django spirit warmed the house, and in more than just a retro/replication way. Warmth and feeling blend nicely with virtuosic fret board work in this group.
Some loves are just too deeply ingrained to hide, especially when a guitarist employs the same vintage style as Django and leans toward the '30s- and '40s-style tunes, even in his own originals.
Atkinson's playing also adopts Django's signature mix of prim stateliness and gypsy abandon in his phrasing. He mixes scalar sweeps with chromatic flutterings and likes to adopt the quivering vibrato also from the Django canon of technical nuances.
Despite all that, Atkinson's Django-esque qualities are particularly notable because, while he belongs squarely in the passionate subculture of post-Django players, Atkinson also brings his own voice to the mix.
It was actually a bit disarming when Atkinson jumped eras to the present tense in a more identifiable instrumental acoustic guitar style, as in his lyrical pieces "Dierdre" and "Dunsmuir Road." The non-jazz harmonic vocabulary and general atmosphere of those pieces are more up to date and in the groove of the modern finger-picking guitar scene.
For classical flavors, Atkinson played his own "Frederic's Closet," with musical nods to Chopin, and a surprisingly lovely and logical Bolero-style version of Baroque composer Albinoni's "hit," Adagio for Organ and Strings.
An energetic original, "Pickpocket," replete with a percussive samba jam-style interlude, closed the second set. For encores, Atkinson neatly wrapped up his show and summed up his musical persona by playing his own faux antique tune, "Walt's Waltz" (for his grandfather, Walt) and then a short and quick run through another Django classic, "Honeysuckle Rose."
Atkinson is one of those musicians with an abiding love for particular channels of bygone musical history but is also plugged into the importance of musical heat in the present tense, in a given room.
Those at SOhO were blessed to make his acquaintance at his Santa Barbara debut, and hopefully it will mark his first of many appearances here.
Remember that name.