It’s no secret that innovative guitarists spawn legions of imitators. But unlike many latter-day guitar gods, French fingerstyle master Pierre Bensusan spawned an entire label.
Though some rue its very existence, the influential New Age label Windham Hill was originally built on a stable of acoustic guitarists whose debt to Bensusan was obvious if not always admitted.
Recorded when he was just 17, his 1975 debut, “Pres de Paris,” was greatly influenced by guitarists John Renbourn and Bert Jansch of the seminal British folk-rock band Pentangle. In the 23 years since, Bensusan has released a trickle of well-received recordings, from solo guitar work to Paul Winter-ish ensemble material. His newest album, “Live in Paris,” is a stunning collection of duets with Didier Malherbe on woodwinds.
And while the Windham Hill school–Will Ackerman, Alex DeGrassi, Daniel Hecht and the late Michael Hedges–is rightly criticized for indulging in soulless noodling at times, Bensusan is as yet innocent of the same.
Bensusan’s show Wednesday at Martyrs was a fiery confirmation of a world-class talent that critics, musicians and guitar aficionados have whispered about to each other for years.
In the opening “Quatre Heures du Matin,” Bensusan’s subtle thumbing grabbed the audience fully and immediately, making even the clip-clop of a set of high heels across the club’s tile floor sound disrespectful.
Late arrivals waited until the song was over before venturing off for seats, a trait more common at Orchestra Hall than North Side nightclubs.
The Algerian-born Bensusan has long been known in guitar circles as the master of DADGAD, an open-stringed guitar tuning favored by Celtic musicians. Tuning the instrument to major 4th chord allows effortless one- and two-finger chording, freeing the player up for more adventurous voicings up the neck.
But rather than relying heavily on the droning open strings of the tuning, Bensusan proffered walking bass lines and triplet-festooned Middle Eastern motifs in turn.
Launching into “Bamboule,” Bensusan unleashed a flurry of samba comping accented by his Brazilian-flavored wordless scatting. And much unnoticed by the audience, using a foot controller, the guitarist recorded a loop of the master chord progression into a digital processor and played it back in real time a few seconds later as he soloed high above it.
Bensusan’s first Chicago appearance in seven years was a thrilling but bittersweet evening: the joy of hearing the French DADGAD master live tempered by the realization of how long it will likely be before he is back.
