Last year, Georgia-based guitarist, composer, and improviser Shane Parish released Repertoire, an album of 14 covers on solo acoustic guitar. The songs were mostly from forward-thinking jazz composers – Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra, among others – along with interpretations of songs by the likes of the Minutemen, Captain Beefheart, and Aphex Twin thrown in for good measure. The result is a gorgeous puzzle of acoustic recordings that brought together unique compositions interpreted by a fearless soloist.
Now, with Solo at Café OTO, Parish has created something of a companion piece, swapping out the acoustic guitar for a Squier Telecaster electric, and covering a variety of compositions in a live setting. Parish is not only the leader of the avant-rock band Ahleuchatistas, he’s also a member of the Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet, whose recent release Hauslive 4 was a four-person, live interpretation of Orcutt’s Music for Four Guitars.
It was during a European tour with the quartet that all four guitarists (Parish, Orcutt, Wendy Eisenberg, and Ava Mendoza) performed a one-off show at London’s Café OTO in which each member of the group played a solo set. Parish’s set explores British and American folk ballads as well as a striking interpretation of a television soundtrack composition. The type of guitar he plays, as well as the source of the compositions, differ from Repertoire, but Parish’s unique skills are all over both of these terrific records.
Opening with Anne Briggs’ “She Moves Through the Fair”, Parish offers up a dramatic interpretation that’s both thorny – with his busy and impressive fingerpicking – but also sparse and dynamic, filled with emotion and tension. In “Barbara Allen”, Parish takes Shirley Collins’ composition and brings ebbs and flows of bluesy dissonance that also allow the mysterious folk ambience of the song to shine through.
Moving slightly away from the traditional folk sources of the record, Parish tackles David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti’s “Sycamore Trees” from the Twin Peaks TV series, and it’s perhaps the noisiest and most disruptive of the bunch, all atonal fury and sonic clashes. Where the original recording – featuring dramatic vocals from Jimmy Scott – is imbued with a simmering, jazzy, torch song aura, it’s deconstructed by Parish in a manner that almost seems like an exorcism as he attempts to dig out the beast within. It’s an innovative, unpredictable interpretation – the closest Parish comes to imitating the brash style of the Orcutt guitar quartet performances – and a breath of fresh air for anyone who pines to hear songs not only covered, but transformed.
However, the compositional centerpiece of the record appears to be John Jacob Niles, the legendary American composer and balladeer, who wrote the remaining three songs on Solo at Café OTO. “Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot” is dark and complex, Parish’s fingerpicking weaving through the piece with elegance and determination. “Brothers Revenge” is quieter, but filled with urgent strumming that runs through the song’s peaks and valleys. “I’m Goin’ Away” closes the album on a relatively graceful note, with droning undertones, pining melodies, and a relaxed gait, clocking in at a leisurely seven minutes.
Solo at Café OTO is a wonderful half hour and change of Shane Parish’s unique, engaging gifts. While it makes for a superb introduction to the magic of his playing and bold interpretations, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Dig deep into his catalog, and you’ll find a treasure of guitar playing that wonderfully defies the standard rules.