Why the best guitarist in American country music is a Brit
Country music wandered out of the hills of the Southeast in the 1920s. Tricky themes of troubled love, booted wranglers and working-class values played out on the front porches and dusty roads of bucolic America until country music became the most listened to genre in the United States. The common man and kinfolk gussied up and skedaddled down to the local honky tonk to celebrate the songs of their homeland.
Since then, country has gone city, and, ironically, the world’s premier country guitar slinger is a longhair from England.
Albert Lee, who performs at Kuumbwa on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m., is a five-time recipient of Guitar Player magazine’s “Best Country Guitarist” award, and is known as “Mr. Telecaster” for his masterful speed, dexterity and hybridization of banjo rolls, chicken pickin’, twanging double stops, and B-bending spanky tone. To broaden his palette of expression, Lee shelved the Telecaster in favor of the Ernie Ball Music Man Signature Edition Albert Lee guitar, which combines together in one instrument the merciless transparency and bite of a Telecaster and the sweetness and tonal flexibility of a Stratocaster.
But Lee is more than just a guitar hero of country music. He is a disarmingly humble spirit revered by peers and fans as a nonpareil and living legend. This former Everly Brother is a two-time Grammy winner, composer, musical director, multi-instrumentalist, crooner and crossover artist who sports an impressive repertoire that runs the gamut of musical styles. In addition to releasing more than 35 of his own recordings, highlights of his career include working with Emmy Lou Harris, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dolly Parton, Eric Clapton, Rodney Crowell, Ricky Skaggs, Bo Diddley, Joe Cocker, Jackson Browne, Bill Wyman, Jimmy Page, Jon Lord and Steve Morse, to name only a few. Lee even played himself in the movie Return of Spinal Tap.
There wasn’t much time between the woodshed and the stage as Lee honed his chops, leaving home at age 16 to embrace music as a full-time career. Now, after 55 years on the road, he is as fresh as ever—it’s as evident in the twinkle of his eye as it is in the flash of his fingers. Lee is a self-effacing imp with an infectious smile, hell-bent on a mission to delight.
Unlike other guitar heroes, Lee is not overblown or over-amped, and doesn’t sacrifice song structure for solo glory. In fact, at first one might wonder where all the flash is. What Lee and his band deliver is subtle magic, a thing so special that it will genuinely surprise you. Lee articulates profound music through breathtaking technique that stays deep in the pocket, so that every song glistens like a gem without excess or extravagance. His virtuosity, albeit jaw-dropping and dangerous, blossoms organically from the melody, tempo and feel of each song, and hangs in the sweet spot with a reassuring warmth that lets the audience know that they are in good hands, tune after tune after tune.
What is Lee’s recipe for success? Start with a world-class set list and gear tweaked for twang. Pepper the mix with stunning vocals, gorgeous arrangements of three-part harmonies by a mature and sensitive band. Sauté all of this on the stage of your choice with a seasoned maestro entertainer who is full of joy.
Great music is penned with specific intention. Songs tell a tale, musically, lyrically and texturally, and great performers are keenly sensitive to these elements. Lee has an overarching understanding of musicological context and the purpose that each song aims to achieve, from the import and feel of its story to the mood of the melody and the visceral implications of its groove. He can turn on a dime from country to rockabilly, boogie, blues and more, with equal prowess and reserve—much like the master painter knows when the final stroke has been applied to the masterpiece, and it is time to put the brush down.
The afterglow of an Albert Lee show is unlike that of other guitar hero concerts. It is more akin to the feeling that swells after a provocative film or play. It is an experience that leaves you with a series of time-released epiphanies long after Lee has moseyed on down the road to the next town.
PHOTO: Albert Lee, his Ernie Ball Music Man Signature Edition Albert Lee Guitar, and his band play the Kuumbwa on Thursday, Jan. 29.
