Review: Scotty Anderson: In Your Own Backyard

The Dayton debut of Scotty Anderson and his band Saturday night at Canal Street Tavern
offered an intimate view of a master player who generates two kinds of heat. Many of the guitar players in the audience who came with previous experience waited breathlessly for his full-on, high speed romps through tunes like "John Henry" and "Sweet Georgia Brown". And while it's certainly a thrill to see a guitarist with so much technique completely cutting loose, it's the ballads that show what stunning command he has. He polished up the snowy ambience of "Moonlight in Vermont" with rich chords, dropping in effects that would make Bill Frisell proud. Django Reinhardt's gorgeous "Nuages" was played with passionate restraint.

The sweep of American music the band plays gives everyone something to chew on; Johnny Cash, rhythm and blues, Ellington/Strayhorn, Merle Travis and early jazz are just some of the touchstones of a typical Scotty Anderson set. When he rang out the opening chords to Steely Dan's "Josie" just before unplugging, it was a sly wink and nod that you could only imagine where an expansive third set could lead.