When: Thu., Jan. 27, 8 p.m., Thu., Feb. 10, 8 p.m. and Thu., Feb. 24, 8 p.m. 2011
Larry Adair is a Portland jazz legend, a part of the scene for over 20 years. Whether solo or accompanying Bill Coones' bass fiddle, the man is hypnotic on the jazz guitar, with a playing style that's economical yet complex, showing off on the sly as if he doesn't want you to notice. Arpeggios and surprise chord inversions spring out of his earthy, easy jazz playing like sparks on a live wire. When he really loses himself in the playing, Adair starts humming the solo while he makes it up. It's an intimate, involuntary reaction that tightens the gap between both the player and his guitar and the performer and his audience. DAVE BOW