The revival of instrumental guitar music – non-jazz, classical, or shredder division – in the last decade has been one of music’s most refreshing movements. Inspired by the original wave of so-called American Primitive guitarists led by John Fahey and fleshed out by Leo Kottke, Robbie Basho, William Ackerman, Michael Hedges, Davy Graham, Alex De Grassi, and the like, these pickers – Nathan Salsburg, Steve Gunn, James Blackshaw, Marisa Anderson, William Tyler, the late Jack Rose, and quite a few more – may have fingers trained in folk, blues, and classical forms, but they refuse boundaries, either industry- or self-imposed. These folks make the kind of music that they hear in their heads, whether it’s instrumental or vocal, acoustic or electric. Now young guns like Yasmin Williams, Cameron Knowler, and Eli White join the ranks with fresh visions of their own.
Hayden Pedigo is one of the new scene’s brightest lights. Born and raised in Amarillo, Texas, Pedigo’s art is fueled less by virtuosity than it is by imagination. On I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away, his latest album and fourth for Mexican Summer, Pedigo uses his skill to convey the beauty of the countryside that surrounds his hometown. Like his contemporaries and inspirations, he uses arpeggios and runs to compose tunes, rather than show off – folks looking for hot solos and dizzying displays of guitaristic technique will likely be disappointed. Bolstered by tasteful use of electric guitars, strings, and other instruments, Pedigo paints pictures, letting the dreamlike melodies of the shimmering “Long Pond Lily,” the lovely “Hermes,” and the plainspoken title track stimulate listeners’ own imaginations. As a way to help us translate these songs, Pedigo incorporates carefully timed pauses in his pieces, impersonating the wide vistas of his birthplace, and letting us catch up to the images, still or moving, forming in our minds.
There’s nothing wrong with the highly technological setting in which so much music these days finds itself – creative musicians can take any tools, no matter how electronic, and extract beauty. But it’s nice to know that there are still young artists outside of jazz and classical music that prefer to use acoustic instruments as the center of their art. Hayden Pedigo proves himself a master of that vision on I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away.
