To reporter’s sensibility add a guitar

Ruben Martinez, the journalist and commentator known for his goatee and sharp repartee as former co-host of KCET’s “Life & Times,” was back in town this week after an extended absence. But he didn’t show up at a newsroom, notebook in hand. Instead, he appeared Thursday on stage at the Echo, a guitar slung over his shoulder, leading his fine country-flavored outfit the Border Balladeers.

Martinez is still telling stories and trying to raise a fuss, this time with original, real-life songs based on research for his books about the U.S.-Mexico border and workers on the move. The goatee is gone, but the passion in his point of view is still there.

Martinez, who now lives in New Mexico, has been gradually developing his musical alter-ego as bard of the barrio. The singer-songwriter has appeared from time to time at Espresso Mi Cultura, testing his songs with a smaller group at the Hollywood coffeehouse. On Thursday, he was ready to showcase his act for an audience that, though small, included industry insiders, among them roots music maven Ry Cooder.

Though faltering at first, the band pulled together to provide a tailored, understated backup to Martinez’s bilingual material -- Marty Robbins meets Los Tigres del Norte. Martinez capably held the spotlight as the gruff-voiced lead singer and entertaining narrator with the flair of a country preacher.

Ever the reporter, he introduced his songs with background about the places he has been, the people he has met. And very engagingly, he wove tales of his own life as the son of Mexican and Salvadoran immigrants to Los Angeles, a city with vanishing voices from populist Latino perspectives.

Whether in essay or in song, Martinez provides a valuable outlook, and he earned a warm welcome home.