It’s tempting to think of BERT JANSCH’s new disc, The Black Swan (Drag City), as a comeback, but the veteran British folkie never retired from playing live or making albums–he’s just recording for a hipper, more high-profile label (which also happens to be the first in the U.S. to sign him). Jansch’s 60s and 70s work–as a solo artist, with the influential folk-rock-jazz group Pentangle, or in duets with fellow Pentangle guitarist John Renbourn–has become a touchstone for younger musicians, and on the new album he’s practically annexed by the freak-folk crowd: he’s joined by Beth Orton, Devendra Banhart, David Roback, and others, and coproducer Noah Georgeson has worked with Banhart and Joanna Newsom. Still, Jansch sounds very much himself on this casual outing. He was one of the first of the 60s British folk artists to eschew traditional songs and write his own, and he still does that, singing in a comfortable, lived-in warble and playing acoustic fingerstyle guitar that’s unfussy but technically sharp and colorful. –Peter Margasak
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This show is part of the Three Million Tongues Festival; see page 26 for a complete schedule. Bert Jansch headlines; Steve Mackay & the Radon Ensemble, Spires That in the Sunset Rise, and Nick Schillace open. Frankie Delmane, Folk & Violence, and Michael Young give “sideshow” performances between sets. If you’re reading this on Thursday, November 16, you may still be able to catch the free Three Million Tongues preparty with Sikhara (which includes members of the Radon Ensemble) at 10 PM at Rodan, 1530 N. Milwaukee; call 773-276-7036. a 9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $12.
