On Tuesday night, The Ark hosted an extraordinary performance by jazz group The Great Guitars, delivering a captivating two-hour show. Formed in the 1970s, the group currently features legendary guitarists Martin Taylor, Ulf Wakenius, and Biréli Lagrène. While the trio had initially planned to perform a blend of solo, duo, and trio numbers, Lagrène sprained his wrist before the performance, leaving Taylor and Wakenius to take the stage as a duo.
Martin Taylor, the longest-standing member of The Great Guitars, joined the group in the 1980s, replacing one of the original members. In the 2010s, he recruited Wakenius and Lagrène, and the trio has since toured extensively across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Wakenius, a renowned Swedish jazz guitarist, has been a key member of the prestigious Oscar Peterson Quartet since 1997. Lagrène’s distinctive style of jazz guitar draws inspiration from the legendary Belgian musician Django Reinhardt, reflecting Lagrène’s French upbringing and musical roots.
During the concert, Taylor and Wakenius performed a setlist that not only reflected their individual musical journeys but also paid tribute to their mentors and musical influences. They included multiple songs by Barney Kessel, one of the original members of The Great Guitars, as well as selections from other iconic artists like Stevie Wonder and The Beatles.
Taylor and Wakenius shared stories from their early years as musicians, recalling the influence of jazz greats such as Stéphane Grappelli and Oscar Peterson. Taylor took a moment to reflect on the importance of learning from older generations of musicians.
“You know, it’s good to be here with my good friend,” Taylor told the audience. “We go back quite a long way, and we’ll talk about when we were youngsters, playing with some of the older greats. In my case, that was 11 years touring the world with Stephane Grappelli, and Ulf was with Oscar Peterson for 10 years. But, we were very fortunate to be there as young musicians, soaking up that whole legacy of jazz.”
As the performance neared its conclusion, Taylor and Wakenius brought the tempo up with “Last Train to Hauteville,” a composition by Taylor. He explained that the sound of a train whistle had inspired the song and encouraged the audience to mimic the train whistle during certain parts of the tune.
“I lived in France for a while and I felt very romantic, so I bought my wife a house that was 350 years old,” Taylor shared. “It was a beautiful place, but all you do with a house that old is spend all your time stopping it from falling down … and a steam train used to go by, and I liked that. And they used to have a particular kind of whistle noise. It went ‘whoo whoo.’”
Audience member Katie Lynne, a U-M alum, shared her appreciation for the musical complexity of the performance in an interview with The Michigan Daily.
“They’re playing so many notes all over the place — up and down, all at the same time,” Lynne said. “But, what I kept noticing was the space between the notes, because every single note doesn’t mean anything without the relationship to other notes. So, I was noticing that, and noticing (the performers) in relationship to one another, as well as how they would interweave, and how the notes created an experience. They created a story.”
Lynne also praised the unique sense of community fostered at The Ark.
“It’s therapeutic to sing and dance and to be on stage and to watch other people perform and to clap for each other and to gather together in a dark room and listen to music,” Lynne added. “Being in a theater space is like being in a church. It’s a space where people are gathered together to experience a group process that is truly transcendent.”
Maria Demerell, a freshman in Music, Theater & Dance, also spoke to the power of music in creating community and connection.
“I think that music and performing is a universal language,” Demerell said. “It is something that we all can feel and all can connect to, regardless of the text or the language that it’s using.”
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