By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
A couple recordings with local ties have recently been released.
Master guitarist Skip “Little Axe” McDonald has visited Bowling Green on several occasions. Matt Donahue, in the Popular Culture Department at Bowling Green State University, is both a fan and supporter of McDonald and has hosted the guitarist, who grew up in Dayton and now lives in England, for stays in Bowling Green.
The most recent visit was to perform at the Black Swamp Arts Festival. On a couple earlier occasions, McDonald played shows at Grounds for Thought.
That’s where this CDm “One Man – One Night” was recorded back in March, 2015.
McDonald’s sound is an amalgam of the various colors of African-American music. At the heart is blues, jazz and gospel. He’s also played hard rock and, as a session player for Sugarhill Records, he backed Grandmaster Flash is the early days of rap.
He’s blended this into a smooth mix that delivers pointed messages and hard truths.
When he has the audience join him in singing “tear the system down,” he seems prescient to what many are feeling in the wake of the presidential election. And he reminds the listeners that they’ll encounter people they met on the way up again on the way down.
All this is backed by guitar mastery so assured it doesn’t call attention to itself. McDonald programs his own bass and drums tracks to provide a steady pulsating groove. The freshness of his guitar lines always imbues the music with a sense of spontaneity.
Especially poignant is “My Only Friend” about falling onto the wrong path, and being trapped there. “Sin,” he sings, “is my only friend.”
The recording is available at Grounds as well as at Culture Clash Records in Toledo.
Another recent release with Bowling Green connections is “Ken Thomson: Restless.”
Issued on LP and also available as a digital download, “Restless” features pianist Karl Larson with cellist Ashely Bathgate. Larson was one of the first graduates of the Doctor in Contemporary Music program at Bowling Green State University. Now based in Brooklyn, he returned to town earlier this year with the trio Bearthoven.
Thomson has been to Bowling Green as well. He brought his hybrid jazz quartet Fast/Slow to town in 2012.
One of the striking characteristics of the title piece for cello and piano is how romantic it is. Bathgate’s cello soars over Larson’s piano. On the third movement they prowl together. “Restless” ends with a lament builds in intensity as harmonic tension grows between the cello and piano. This is salon music reimagined for the 21st century.
On the second side, Larson goes it alone as Thomson explores the textures of the piano in “Me Vs.” The first movement has the pianist slamming out chords then setting a quiet, querulous line against them. The second movement is quieter yet with insistent chording and a yearning melody. The piece closes with a darting line that seems to keeping turning on itself punctuated by chords reminiscent of those in the opening.
The session is available from Thomson’s website http://ktonline.net/ and other online sources.
