Slack-key performance beyond traditional

Eccentric and eclectic -- two words that have been used to describe George Winston.

On Wednesday night Winston -- a solo guitar, piano and harmonic artist and producer of Hawaiian slack-key guitar recordings -- showed a crowd of about 180 people at Old St. Vincent's Church why those two terms precede him wherever he goes.

Winston performed two sets of guitar music that focused on folk music in many forms -- Appalachian fiddle tunes, early folk pieces and what might be called a form of Hawaiian folk, the slack-key style -- in a concert to benefit the Saint Francis Medical Center Children's Fund. With the lights dimmed in the exquisite backdrop of the historic church, Winston played music that was sometimes slow, sometimes jumpy, but always relaxing.

The concert was one for the music geek in all of us. Winston sometimes seemed more scholar than musician, more Lomax than Leadbelly, as he went on long tangents about guitar tunings, the origins of musical styles and the history of the steel guitar. All the while the musician made sure to spice up his long talk with humor that drew frequent, hearty laughs from the audience.

Even the guitarist himself took note of his long talks. "I'll stop rapping and start playing," he said before one tune.

But while Winston spent much of his time talking, when he was playing his customized seven-string, he was all concentration. Winston is no frills. Wearing blue jeans and a plain, dark long-sleeve shirt, he didn't try to make a show of himself, just of his music.

During songs Winston was all concentration. The light reflecting off his thick-lensed glasses only enhanced the image of a musical machine, but his sound was anything but mechanical.

The set switched between the Hawaiian slack-key tunes Winston has grown so fond of and the folk music of the American mainland -- all pieces carrying Winston's own musical mark. Playing fingerstyle the whole way, Winston's fingering hand flew over the fretboard, sometimes bending the neck to alter the pitch of a note.

Even when Winston gave lessons on the history of guitar styles and tunings, those in attendance seemed engaged. Meanwhile the music he played created an atmosphere of relaxation and contemplation -- the kind of show where closing your eyes and imagining your vision of choice is just as accepted and fulfilling as watching the musician at work.

Both reactions seemed completely natural.

In true Winston style, he played with no set list, primarily playing what felt right. For the most part, the audience wouldn't have known the songs anyway (even familiar tunes were altered heavily by Winston), and they didn't seem to care.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182