Reviews / Taylor’s tunes buzzing with jazzy verve
DAY TWO in the Shetland International Guitar Festival house, writes Chris Cope.
It’s a wonder Mareel wasn’t still smouldering on Friday after Australian acoustic virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel had blazed his way through a set of speed-freak tunes and fiery blues numbers the night previously.
The second of three nights saw festival curator Martin Taylor headline the Lerwick venue, and whilst his Aussie comrade often veered into finger-singeing fret board work and unorthodox percussion nods, the jazzy Brit instead kept it relatively simple.
However, when comparing guitar work to Emmanuel, “relatively simple” is still outstanding, emotive and technically superb.
Local duo Brian Nicholson and Peter Wood were enlisted to open the night, and they did so with accomplished flair. The former, who excelled with dainty guitar licks and hearty solos and looked like he was itching to get off his seat and just plain rock out, led the High Level Music past-and-present pair through his own Jake’s Waltz, whilst Wood’s digits ran riot on the accordion during a French-themed number.
It was varied stuff, knapping between traditional leaning foot-stomping rabble-rousers and gentle whirls, and with bouts of sparring banter, it was a perfect opening act for Taylor.
The esteemed musician sat perched with his gargantuan electric guitar between his pins, besuited like a regal master on his throne. Tunes like ‘I Won’t Last A Day Without You’ buzzed with jazzy verve, effusing a structured, song-first approach.
It was as if Taylor was performing a ventriloquist act with his instrument as he somehow lured out lead guitar melodies from thin air whilst simultaneously providing the more conspicuous rhythm chords.
There were no dummies on stage though, with the guitarist working effortlessly in tandem with his musical tool like a supreme double act. His fingers were constantly melting and re-appearing in different bone-twisting formations from the bottom to the top of his fret board.
And then there was the enchanting ‘Down At Cocomo’s’, a tune inspired by a sunset-doused beach visit with his wife in old haunt Barbados. The bouncing guitar emulated the chipper palette of steel drums and for one second, if you closed your eyes for just about long enough, you were almost there on the island holding a fruity cocktail in hand.
But then, alas, you came to your senses and realised you were just clutching a warm pint of Tennent’s in a half-filled plastic cup whilst your clothes were still drying off from the icy monsoon which had pelted the pavements an hour or two before.
Taylor was teaching over 20 guitar students in a three-day “retreat” at the same time as curating the festival, with many of them travelling to Shetland from countries such as Australia and America to learn under the musician’s tutelage.
And it was pretty clear why they used up their thousands of air miles to come to our little island to pick up tips from Taylor.
The output from his guitar was fuelled by feeling, with each note striking something within him, and within the audience too.
”We’ve had tragedy in the family”, he uttered near the end of his set, before revealing that his family lost one of their sons – who was aged just 21 at the time – nearly ten years ago.
What then ensued was the song ‘One Day’, which was created from a melody that swirled inside Taylor’s head whilst he considered quitting guitar after the untimely death of his son. It was deft and delicate, and brought the Mareel auditorium to an emotional halt.
A standing ovation later followed and those who lifted their bums off their seats to applaud knew deep down that after Emmanuel and now Taylor, Shetland has been lucky to have such talent grace the isles in a matter of just 24 hours.
Chris Cope
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