THE BEAT
Martin Simpson's guitar wizardry; Maria Sangiolo
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Dec. 12, 1997) -- Guitarist Martin Simpson's latest album, "Cool and Unusual" (Red House), kicks off quietly, with a guitar being strummed, picked and plucked in a soft, impressionistic manner. Slowly the melody and structure of the song, "Darling Corey," take shape out of the abstract mass of chords and notes. A few instrumentalists join in, and the sleepy, traditional folk tune turns into a bluesy, funky, jazzy strut full of danger and passion. Cool and unusual, indeed.
This is the sort of musical transformation that listeners have grown to expect from Simpson, who writes in the liner notes, "My entire life in music has been involved in the cross fertilization of elements of English, Scots and Irish music with African and Afro American ideas." It is undoubtedly why the native of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, in northeastern England, has performed and recorded with bands and singers as various as Steve Miller, June Tabor, the Albion Band, Richard Thompson and Chinese pipa player Wu Man.
While perhaps most associated with the English folk-rock tradition through his work with Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention, Simpson is no dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist. While nearly all the tunes on "Cool and Unusual," for example, are based on old folk ballads, Simpson gives them a unique, original spin which respects their integrity while utterly transcending their origins, giving the music a timeless quality that is both ancient and utterly contemporary.
Simpson doesn't only play guitar. In addition to the various axes he wields, which include acoustic, electric, resonator and "D" guitars, he also plays fretless banjo and CUMBUS, a six-string Turkish instrument related to the banjo. "Cool and Unusual" features accompaniment by noted guitarists David Lindley and Kelly Joe Phelps, as well as members of Tarika Sammy on indigenous instruments.
When he is not performing or recording solo, Simpson collaborates with his wife, singer-songwriter Jessica Ruby Simpson, with their group, Band of Angels, which released an eponymously-titled CD on Red House last year.
Simpson performs at the National Music Center in Lenox tomorrow night at 8. He will also be hosting a three-hour guitar workshop in the afternoon starting at 2. For ticket information and reservations for the workshop call 637-1800.
MARIA SANGIOLO
On the evidence of the CD "Follow Your Own Road" (Signature Sounds), Maria Sangiolo's clear, unaffected, girl-next-door vocals are the perfect compliment to her simply-crafted, original, country-laced folk-pop compositions that address concerns of family, friendship and relationships.All is not sunny, however, in Sangiolo's world. "No Love" is a mid- tempo folk-rocker that portrays the hidden pain and loneliness of an addictive personality. "Jesse Runs" profiles a guy hiding from hurt in the safety and security of a dead-end job. Sangiolo mines the darker corners of experience with sensitivity and compassion equal to the joy and spirit she invests in love songs like "Brave Boy."
The third album by the Pioneer Valley-based singer-songwriter -- a veteran of top folk festivals including Falcon Ridge and Kerrville (Texas) -- was co-produced by John Curtis (Pousette-Dart Band) and includes backup by such well-known area musicians as cellist Gideon Freudmann, guitarist Jim Henry and vocalists Lynne Saner and Chris Smither.
Sangiolo performs this Sunday at 7 in the Old Stone Church House Concert Series in Williamstown. Opening the show is the Berkshires' own Jared Polens, a member of Berkshire-based performing groups including Wintergreen and Northern Spy, playing traditional and contemporary folk songs. For reservations or more information call 458-3188 or E-mail DCNEnt@aol.com.
BACKSTAGE BITS
ATTENTION BANDS AND VENUES: For inclusion in an upcoming preview, please send details about your plans for New Year's Eve to the rogovoy@berkshire.net.READERS POLL: There's still time to sound off about your favorite CDs of 1997. Oasis or Sublime? Spice Girls or Hanson? U2 or the Rolling Stones? Send a list of your favorites to rogovoy@berkshire.net for inclusion in our upcoming reader's poll.
NEXT WEEK: Music for Chanukah.
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Dec. 12, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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