One November Night (Live)

Recorded live at a small Boston venue, One November Night serves up Johnny A.’s tasty guitar licks with clarity and bite. The former Peter Wolf sideman reaffirms his commitment to spare, clean musicianship with a slight jazz accent, ably supported by bassist Jesse Bastos and drummer Chris Farr. Johnny runs through the full spectrum of his sound, spicing up material drawn from his first two albums with a few previously unrecorded numbers. His affinity for crisp Chet Atkins-style picking is highlighted on country-slanted treatments of Lennon/McCartney’s “The Night Before” and Chuck Berry’s “Memphis, Tennessee,” as well as the jaunty “Tex Critter.” “Two Wheel Horse” and “Song Singin’” catch him working in a meatier rock mode, while his renditions of Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman” and his own “Krea Gata” are spun from dreamy gossamer notes. If there’s a showstopper here, it’s “Jimi Jam,” a nicely blended medley of Hendrix tunes combining fret-frying dramatics with more subtle shadings.