This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 24, 2011 - The St. Louis music scene is home base for quite a few very talented guitarists. But most of them focus on specific musical genres such as blues, jazz, R&B, rock or world music.
But there's one guitarist who is eclectic enough to excel playing almost any style of music on the guitar -- from acoustic flamenco and Django Reinhardt-influenced swing, to bebop, blues, rock, world beat and even classically influenced sounds.
His name is Dave Black, and you can find him playing around the St. Louis area in solo settings as well as in bands as diverse as the Ultrasound Machine, Bridge, the itty bitty String Orchestra, sitting in with Javier Mendoza and leading his own quartet, the Dave Black Group.
Tuesday at the Sheldon Concert Hall, you'll have the chance to catch Black in all these settings in a single concert. It's billed as "An Evening with Dave Black and Friends," and it will feature the eclectic guitarist working in five different settings -- backed by 12 of the best musicians in the area.
I caught up with Black on his cell phone -- on a typically busy day in between his teaching duties at Webster University's Jazz Studies department and some private guitar lessons -- to find out more about the concert.
"I've had the idea of doing something like this at the Sheldon for the past couple of years," explains Black. "But for various reasons, I never acted on it. Finally, I decided to try and contact everyone I wanted to play with on this show, and it actually materialized! So the concert will feature five different bands and give people the chance to see and hear all these great musicians I'm working with all in one night!"
Modestly, Black doesn't mention that the concert will also showcase his amazing versatility as a guitarist. But a look at the lineup underscores Black's ability to work in a wide array of musical contexts.
Here's a look at each of the bands that Black will be performing with Tuesday -- as well as his comments about each group's members and musical approach.
The concert opens with a performance by the Ultrasound Machine, featuring Dave Trancoso on bass, Joe Meyer on drums and Black on electric guitar.
"This is basically Dave Trancoso's group," states Black. "He does most of the arrangements, and we've been playing fairly regularly at the Cigar Inn in Belleville for about 10 months. It's been a lot of fun and there's a lot of Latin and funk in what we do."
Next up is the Itty Bitty String Orchestra, featuring Black's guitar accompanied by Justin Branum on violin, Paul DeMarinis on clarinet, Willem vom Hombracht on acoustic bass and vocalist Margaret Bianchetta.
"This band has its roots in the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli," explains Black. "There's some influence as well from jazz guitarists Barney Kessell, Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd, and their group, Great Guitars. It's really a fun band."
Bridge, a quintet that includes classical musicians Asako Kuboki on violin, cellist Tanya Iqbal double bass player David DeRiso and drummer Kevin Gianino accompanying Black, will play one of the guitarist's original works as well as a composition by John Zorn.
"This group started last spring," says Black, "and it's such a fun group. I've been spending a lot of time on working with them, and I'm thinking I'd really like to record this band. It's a real meeting ground between jazz, classical and tango music."
The next band on the bill features Latin musician Javier Mendoza on vocals, backed by Black, Troncoso on bass, drummer Meyer and DeMarinis on saxophone.
"I'm not in Javier's band per se, but I love to sit in with him or have him sit in with me whenever that's possible," explains Black. "It's a great opportunity for me to play some flamenco."
The concert will conclude with a performance by Black's own group, featuring DeMarinis on sax, Gianino on drums and Marc Torlina playing bass.
"I love playing with them," says Black. "It just feels like the perfect way to wind up the concert. I'm just really looking forward to the entire evening -- and playing with all these great musicians. We'll try and keep the music flowing, and it should be a hell of a show!"
For more information about Dave Black's music and other upcoming performances, click here.
Terry Perkins is a freelance writer in St. Louis.