Dennis Ladd
Jun-09-2009, 12:51pm
Evan Marshall at Boulevard Music June 6, 2009
Boulevard Music, Culver City’s answer to McCabe’s in L.A., hosted a benefit concert for Phil Boroff last Saturday.
Blues guitarist Bernie Pearl led off with a solo acoustic set of two songs and finished the evening with an electric set accompanied by pianist Dwayne Smith. Dwayne Smith is fragile looking and blind and probably older even than me but put him in front of a piano and he turns into a blues shouter that makes you want to jump out of your seat.
Banjoist Pat Cloud and harmonicaist (harmonicast?) David Naditch played a set of jazzy tunes. Pat Cloud plays every key (G, C, Dm, Bb, etc.) out of G-tuning and never uses a capo so that was impressive. Of interest to us mandoliners is his playing a “banjola’ – a mandola body with a banjo neck and a pickup between the sound hole and the neck. It sounds like an electric guitar but with a slightly silvery sound that the mandola body brings.
Evan Marshall closed the first half of the show and basically walked off with the audience in the palm of his hand. Anyone who has watched his YouTube videos knows what he can do. Live, onstage, Gilchrist in hand, the man works true magic – it sounds like at least two mandos up there. He has earned the title “The Lone Arranger.” And the tone of that Gilchrist! Paradise!
He demonstrated his technique slowly and then played “Ave Maria”, with its tremolo melody and single note continuo happening at once. He explained the magic but it didn’t take the magic out of the playing. Some of the other tunes he played: “Barber’s Sixth Hungarian Dance,” Return to Sorrento,” and of course “The William Tell Overture Finale.”
I visited his website today (http://solomandolin.com/). Looks like he gives lessons in L.A. I wonder if I can get me some before we retire outta here? He has published a book explaining his technique – maybe start there and then give him a call?
He also did a fiddle tune or two – great, naturally. Maybe Mary and I can adopt him just so’s we can be around when he practices.
Boulevard Music, Culver City’s answer to McCabe’s in L.A., hosted a benefit concert for Phil Boroff last Saturday.
Blues guitarist Bernie Pearl led off with a solo acoustic set of two songs and finished the evening with an electric set accompanied by pianist Dwayne Smith. Dwayne Smith is fragile looking and blind and probably older even than me but put him in front of a piano and he turns into a blues shouter that makes you want to jump out of your seat.
Banjoist Pat Cloud and harmonicaist (harmonicast?) David Naditch played a set of jazzy tunes. Pat Cloud plays every key (G, C, Dm, Bb, etc.) out of G-tuning and never uses a capo so that was impressive. Of interest to us mandoliners is his playing a “banjola’ – a mandola body with a banjo neck and a pickup between the sound hole and the neck. It sounds like an electric guitar but with a slightly silvery sound that the mandola body brings.
Evan Marshall closed the first half of the show and basically walked off with the audience in the palm of his hand. Anyone who has watched his YouTube videos knows what he can do. Live, onstage, Gilchrist in hand, the man works true magic – it sounds like at least two mandos up there. He has earned the title “The Lone Arranger.” And the tone of that Gilchrist! Paradise!
He demonstrated his technique slowly and then played “Ave Maria”, with its tremolo melody and single note continuo happening at once. He explained the magic but it didn’t take the magic out of the playing. Some of the other tunes he played: “Barber’s Sixth Hungarian Dance,” Return to Sorrento,” and of course “The William Tell Overture Finale.”
I visited his website today (http://solomandolin.com/). Looks like he gives lessons in L.A. I wonder if I can get me some before we retire outta here? He has published a book explaining his technique – maybe start there and then give him a call?
He also did a fiddle tune or two – great, naturally. Maybe Mary and I can adopt him just so’s we can be around when he practices.