POP MUSIC REVIEW : David Grier’s Dancing Guitar Strings

LAGUNA NIGUEL — On this year’s release entitled “Lone Soldier” (Rounder), bluegrass picker David Grier surrounds himself with some pretty fine company, including Stuart Duncan, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Adam Steffey and Craig Smith. His preceding album, 1992’s “Climbing the Walls,” was a duet with respected mandolinist Mike Compton. And in between his own projects, Grier backed up Tony Trischka, Tony Furtado and Tom Adams on last year’s critically praised Rounder “Banjo Extravaganza” album and tour.

But on a muggy evening Friday at Shade Tree Stringed Instruments, the Nashville-based Grier was indeed the lone soldier, stripped naked to the bare essentials, musically speaking. In a solo acoustic, all-instrumental setting, only Grier’s fingers and six-string guitar were on hand to impress and entertain a cozy crowd of about 30 devotees.

And boy, did he.

Over the course of a warm, generous, 2 1/2-hour performance, Grier proved to be equally expressive soloing as he is in the company of others, using both subtle strokes and a rolling, sometimes darting, flat-picking style. Grier stretches notes that walk, skip and dance off his strings, lending themselves to folksy ballads and waltzes as well as touches of jazz, funk and the blues.

Even without the fullness of vocal or instrumental backing, his technique and inner voice remain strongly and clearly defined. And whether alone or part of a group, Grier--1992’s International Bluegrass Music Assn.’s Guitar Player of the Year and a protege of the legendary Clarence White--always prefers flavorful variety when playing live.

Early during his first of two sets, Grier’s choice of material ranged from his lovely, romantic ballad “Engagement Waltz” to covers of Homer Dillard and Doc Watson tunes to his own biting, harder-edged “Eye of the Hurricane.” Grier deserves high marks, too, for breathing some much-needed energy into “Wildwood Flower,” the country guitar standard made famous by the Carter family. (Afterward, Grier quipped in his Southern drawl, “I’m not used to playing without chicken wire in front of the stage to stop the empty beer bottles.”)

Just before taking a short break, Grier got in a playful mood, responding to a fan’s request for the lively standard “Beaumont Rag” plus the crowd-pleasing fiddle tune “Back Up and Push.” As he was about to leave the stage, though, he turned salesman, informing the crowd: “I’ve got a million [copies] of my new CDs, T-shirts and a radiator off an old Volkswagen.”

Sharing more of the same wonderful pickin’ in his second set but adding new improvisations, including numerous changes to unusual keys, Grier focused more on traditional pieces and heartfelt covers of songs by his major influences.

Beginning with “Old Ebenezer” (scheduled for release next year on the “A Tribute to Bill Monroe” recording) and moving on to selections that included Clarence White’s “The Alabama Jubilee” and Monroe’s “Roanoke,” Grier put his own stamp on the numbers by twisting or shaping the original versions into something very, well, Grier-ish. Whether subtly rephrasing or more aggressively reworking major notes and chords, Grier reinvented rather than just rehashed his heroes’ material.

He can also do some bending of his own tunes. Grier surprisingly served up two versions of “The New Soldier’s Joy”--the first a quiet lament, the second retooled as an up-tempo, engaging encore.

In the opening slot, classical guitarist and Saddleback Valley College music instructor Gregory Coleman showcased considerable range and skill during his original and traditional selections. Highlighting his brief program was a four-song “Yosemite Suite,” which began with “Teneya,” a heartfelt tribute to the slain Awahnechee tribe leader, and closed with an exceptional rendition of Augustine Barrios’ romantic saga of “Julia Floreda.”