POP MUSIC REVIEW : Baker and Andrews: A Taste of ‘Good, Honest Music’

In the liner notes of Duck Baker’s “American Traditional” CD, the folk music aficionado wrote: “Tradition implies passing along music that has been handed down . . . but not in sealed packages. The aim is not for ‘purity,’ but the sustenance and continuation of good, honest music played for its own sake.”

While performing Friday night with musical partner Molly Andrews at Shade Tree Stringed Instruments in Laguna Niguel, the finger-style guitarist backed up his words by serving up generous portions of rich American music. Concentrating primarily on traditional material covering a variety of styles--including Southern hymns, Irish reels, swing, country blues, ragtime and Appalachian ballads--the duo, for the most part, added fresh ingredients to the musical stew, which relied heavily on Baker’s fine guitar work.

The 45-year-old Baker, a preacher’s son from eastern Virginia, certainly sees no special merit in keeping his choice of material pure. He brought a bluesy edge to jazz great Thelonious Monk’s “Mysterioso,” and practically reinvented a string-band medley (“Robinson County/Peacock Rag”) by using an acoustic guitar/autoharp combo in place of banjo and fiddle.

One song does, however, does push the envelope, approaching what purists would consider blasphemy. “Leavin’ Home,” Charlie Poole’s terrific version of “Frankie and Johnny,” was retooled as a lighthearted murder ballad. Baker’s approach was so off-the-wall, he told the crowd: “What we have here is our version of a folk version of a pop version of a folk song.”

Baker’s low-key yet warmly humorous stage persona lent an air of coziness, whether introducing songs in significant detail or sharing his personal outlook on such topics as a mid-life crisis (“If you live long enough to get your mind right, then your body falls apart.”)

This welcome rapport served to enhance the main attraction: Baker’s guitar expertise.

Deceptively economical and precise, his fingers worked the strings with equal amounts of style and feeling. Frequently creating a range of emotions, Baker’s facial expressions--often grimacing or twitching with eyes squinting or closed while immersed in the moment--captured the emotion smoldering within his soul.

His solo turns during this evening were excellent but infrequent, as Baker preferred to concentrate more on serving the songs and accompanying Andrews, whose inconsistent vocals emerged as the night’s only disappointment.

Certainly no stranger to mountain music, Andrews, a coal miner’s daughter, grew up in Bluefield, W. Va., and sang regularly in her Pentecostal church. Now a gifted autoharp and lap dulcimer player, she has teamed with Baker on two independent releases, 1992’s “American Traditional” and last year’s “The Moving Business.”

At times on this evening, especially on the ragtime “Leavin’ Home,” Hoagy Carmichael’s “New Orleans” and the Western swing “River Blues,” Andrews’ singing was lightweight yet still charming. She ably captured the spirit of tunes steeped in swing, ragtime and jazz.

It was, somewhat oddly considering her background, the more demanding ballads and blues that caused her to struggle. Lacking range and depth, or that ability to inhabit a song, Andrews failed to breathe life into songs requiring serious emotional investment, such as the heartfelt ballads “That $.25 That You Paid,” “Nottamun Town,” and “Too Busy.”

Opening the concert was Newport Beach-based folkie Tom Long, whose strong solo set featured original and traditional instrumentals. With roots in both blues and folk, Long’s fingerstyle guitar work peaked during a pair of rolling shuffles (“Snakebite Jig” and “Matt’s Boogie) and a zany song (“Planxty Osajima”) inspired by psychic self-destruction and chopsticks.