John Williams and John Etheridge played their one New Zealand concert for a packed town hall on Saturday night, opening The Edge's International Arts Season.
These two guitarists are a well-honed partnership. Opening with Francis Bebey's Sangara, Etheridge kept his plectrum in his mouth when not using itto pluck fiery blasts of melody against Williams' sonorous backing; a piece later, Williams spun his own sleek solos in the Senegalese Ragajuma.
While these pieces gained their impact through the hypnotic repetition of shortish chord sequences, Etheridge's own Monti's Casino was a jagged romp, with enough harmonic non-sequiturs to flesh out a dozen Frank Zappa charts; once again Etheridge's flaring solos were a strong feature.
The spirit of African music lay behind many of the men's offerings, particularly in the longish Malinke Guitars, in which arranger Williams had their 12 guitar strings emulating the kora, a 21-string West African harp.
This piece turned out to be eight minutes of enchantment, buoyed by offbeats and chime-like effects, and a burst of almost medieval gusto in its last minutes.
The second half of the concert featured the longest work, Benjamin Verdery's Peace Love and Guitars, which had everything from Etheridge stringing a wild cadenza against Williams' energetic strum to moments of joyous jangling.
Both men had solo turns. Williams was at his classical best in the wafting shimmer of Barrios' La Ultima Cancion, but four original pieces were slick and derivative.
Williams' Extra Time was a skilful duo, and the two Johns delivered a dazzling display that travelled from Bach through Vivaldi and Django Reinhardt to climax in the throb and throes of a minimalist wash.
Etheridge's own compositions had their weaknesses too - his Places Between waltzed a little too close to Richard Rodgers' favourite things for my taste - but his takes on Charles Mingus's Goodbye Pork Pie Hat and Harold Arlen's Stormy Weather were totally compelling.
Using his Rosendean Black Ruby electric guitar, Etheridge was a mercurial sonic magician, winning us over with gorgeous liquid sounds, dealing out chords and melody with the perfect balance of jitter and caress.
What: John Williams and John Etheridge.
Where: Auckland Town Hall.
Reviewer: William Dart.
