Andy Gray

Any time I get to see Jerry Douglas perform live, I leave a combination of entertained and amazed.

The Leavittsburg native is the undisputed king of the dobro, but his performance style is the antithesis of the rock guitar god.

There’s a stillness to Douglas when he’s playing — except for his hands, of course. The fury of his finger work isn’t accompanied by grimacing and eye popping to accentuate the performance. It makes listeners almost take for granted the dexterity and precision of what the man is doing seemingly effortlessly before them.

Saturday’s concert at The Kent Stage, where Douglas was accompanied only by bassist Daniel Kimbro, offered a perfect configuration for appreciating both musicians’ talents.

With only two players and two instruments, it was easy to separate the parts and focus on what either one was doing at any given time. And while The Kent Stage never will be the most opulent venue in northeast Ohio, it remains one of the best acoustically. The show sounded spectacular.

At the same time, the interplay between the two musicians was one of the reasons it was so special. Douglas is famous for the number of musicians he’s worked with — appearing on more than 1,600 albums will earn you that reputation.

In the last decade or so, Douglas has added Kimbro’s bass playing to the Jerry Douglas Band, the Earls of Leicester and the house band for the Transatlantic Sessions concerts. It’s a testament to the respect he has for him.

The duo format allowed both Douglas and Kimbro to support each other, push each other and maybe even surprise each other.

Kimbro also got the opportunity to perform and sing a couple of songs from his upcoming solo album during the 105-minute concert (“Loyston” was a standout).

Douglas, who should sing more often, did do vocals on a Tom Waits’ deep cut, “2:19.”

The audience heard his voice plenty in between songs. With some friends and family in the audience, he talked about some of the local musicians he played with who are no longer alive, made references to LaBrae High School and thanked former Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County Director Bobbie Brown for bringing him a care package from the Hot Dog Shoppe.

There was plenty of pickin’ for fans of Douglas’ bluegrass roots. The times I’ve seen Douglas play with the Earls are great fun. Unlike Douglas, though, I didn’t grow up with bluegrass. I appreciate the artistry and the technique, but let’s just say my record collection doesn’t require a separate bluegrass category.

Saturday’s concert had a jazz, jam-band feel that’s more in my comfort zone, with selections ranging from Chick Corea’s “Spain” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” to Douglas originals “Big Bug Shuffle” and “We Hide and Seek.”

Douglas also showed off a new instrument from northeast Ohio luthier Mike Tracz that he’s taking back to Nashville for one of the members of Larkin Poe. He sat in a chair and played it like a lap steel guitar for a beautiful rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Side Now.”

There may be no one better than Douglas to show off the capabilities of a musical instrument.

Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com