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Martin Sexton will perform his diverse repertoire in Ashland next week By Susan DeRosia Ashland Daily Tidings Martin Sexton is a performer with a lot of style, or more precisely, a lot of styles. He can move from a scratchy-throated Van Morrison growl to a sweet-voiced balladeer to a deep, introspective talking blues a la Bruce Springsteen to a controlled high-pitched falsetto that rivals the legendary Marvin Gaye. And that's just the singing. As a guitarist, Sexton plays a mean bass, often with a slapping rhythm (think Charlie Hunter here) under the melody and solo parts which he sometimes picks sometimes sings. And yes, he does sing guitar solos (a la Eric Clapton in "Layla") and supplements the drums of his partner, Joe Bonadio with mouth percussion. Hearing his recent CD, "Live Wide Open," recorded while on tour, it's hard to picture all that music coming from just one guy. But who cares, the aural experience is so satisfying that you just want to move along with it and soak it in. Sexton honed his skills as a one-man band in the streets and subway stations of Boston, where he arrived in 1989 at the age of 23. Saving up enough to produce his first album on his own (it sold 15,000 copies) and a second on an indie label, Sexton was picked up by Atlantic Records. At Atlantic, he recorded two more albums: "The American" and "Wonderbar." The two releases were critical successes, but couldn't find enough of a niche in the cookie-cutter climate of commercial radio to take hold. Sexton, realizing that most of his record sales came from his live performances, decided to start a label of his own, keep the rights and continue to do what he loves best - take it on the road. "Martin Sexton is a good example of a musician that you can only hear on public radio," pointed out Maria Kelly, "JPR brought him here to play the Recital Hall in November, '98 and he blew everybody's socks off. He's amazing." Kelly, who will be producing Jefferson Public Radio's show at the Historic Ashland Armory next Thursday, added that audiences respond to Sexton on many levels - as a vocalist and as an instrumentalist - but mostly as a creative innovator who blends well-loved traditions from blues, jazz and folk into something truly unique. LINKS: REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. DAILY TIDINGS: Main | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -