Les Paul Trio Steals Show at Tribute

As compelling as it was to see Les Paul, the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar, paired onstage with such modern guitar heroes as Slash and Steve Vai, the best part of Wednesday’s House of Blues extravaganza celebrating the venerable musician came when the Les Paul Trio had the spotlight to itself.

“Do you play guitar?” the quick-witted Paul, 82, asked a good-natured heckler early in the first of the evening’s two sets. “No,” the man said. “Then what are you doing here?” Paul replied.

Today’s players owe Paul many debts, and much of the audience had gathered to hear and cheer a living legend. The Wisconsin-born innovator pioneered such recording techniques as multi-tracking, invented several guitar pickups and lent his expertise to the creation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar, a rock ‘n’ roll staple.

So it made sense that an assemblage of axemen, including Dave Edmunds, Stephen Stills and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, would line up to join Paul in a combination of homage and jam session.

Before that slightly chaotic segment, Paul played a half-hour set from his classic repertoire with the stand-up bassist (Paul Lewinsky) and rhythm guitarist (Lou Paulo) he performs with weekly at a New York jazz club. Arthritis has limited Paul’s finger movements, but he was fairly nimble, bending high notes during “Over the Rainbow” that seemed to float before dissipating, and peeling off his trademark flat, slightly eerie riffs with surprising power.

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The rest of the show was intermittently satisfying, and at times mystifying. Paul’s pop recordings with his late ex-wife Mary Ford were his most successful, and his style is based more in jazz than blues. Yet several of the guests chose blues numbers, and of the four featured stars, only Guns N’ Roses’ Slash brought his Les Paul model.

Paul joined each for at least one number, dropping out if he didn’t know the tune and occasionally leaving to watch from the wings. He connected best with his old friend Slash, but fewer sparks flew with Edmunds and Stills. His rapport with Vai was more pleasing, as the younger guitarist offered a noodle-rific take on the Gershwin classic “Summertime,” followed with “Freeway Jam,” by Paul devotee Jeff Beck.

These moments of give-and-take between guitarists were far more dynamic than the predictable finale, when all participants gathered for the Frankie Ford number “Roberta.” Better to have ended on a calmer note by returning the trio to the stage than to close with six guitars blaring on lead, effectively canceling one another out.