By Stephen Maki
Over the past four decades, guitarist Marc Ribot has steadily built a resume so long and complex as to seem unimaginable. With album credit listings literally in the hundreds, across multiple genres, with an encyclopedic and universal list of major artists, his own output as project leader has also included some thirty albums. From the initial offerings of his group Rootless Cosmopolitans to those of Shrek, Spiritual Unity and Ceramic Dog, the boundaries between rock and jazz, melody, harmony and noise have been disassembled and reassembled with astonishing results. He is truly one of the masters of the instrument and all of its associated formats. Ribot will present music from his new release, Map of a Blue City, at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on September 5.
Among the lesser-known of his discography are his six solo offerings, starting with Mark Ribot Plays Solo Classical Guitar Works of Frantz Casseus (1993), the 1995 pairing of The Book of Heads and Don’t Blame Me, Saints (2001) and Exercises in Futility (2008). The more recent pair, Silent Movies (2010) and the 2025 release, Map Of A Blue City, are modern masterpieces. Whereas the former inhabits a cinematicly inspired musical landscape, featuring eleven original compositions, along with “Fat Man Blues” (Fats Domino & Dave Bartholomew, 1949) and “The Kid” (inspired by the Charles Chaplin silent film, 1921), the latter offers nine songs composed, recorded and re-recorded over a thirty-year period., his only album that consists entirely of songs with lyrics. These are stories of redemption, Buddhist blues observations, and cycle of life illuminations, the vocals offered as if they’re in direct and intimate conversation with the listener. It includes one cover, that of the 1930 recording by the Carter Family, “When The World’s On Fire.”
Finally, there is an invaluable companion, or precedent, for the listener – a collection of essays on perspectives developed during a life of music, performance and travel. Published by Akashic books in 2021, Unstrung: Rants and Stories of a Noise Guitarist is not to be missed. Noted the great Elvis Costello,”Unstrung has all the honesty, original angles, beauty, and clangor found in Marc Ribot’s playing. His compassionate writing about Frantz Casseus gives a human face to his calls for artists’ rights. Like life itself, this book is bloody, funny, and bloody funny.” And noted the Washington Examiner, “At its best, Ribot’s writing resembles his music: It’s challenging, unique, and very humane.” The book can be found in local and internet bookstores, as well as the Hennepin and Ramsey County libraries.
You can hear Marc Ribot live on September 5 at The Cedar. When listening to a live performance by Ribot, it is best advised to listen very carefully, as the presentation may include references, or entire compositions, by composers as diverse as John Coltrane, Albert Ayler or even Patsy Cline. These are enhancements to the ever-evolving story being presented.
Tickets for September 5th concert at The Cedar Cultural Center website, https://www.thecedar.org/events
