Mystery Man in the Panama Hat

Leon Redbone will take his music down to the bare bones in a concert at the War Memorial.

By:Susan Van Dongen
   Such a man of mystery is singer Leon Redbone that, during a telephone conversation, he won’t even reveal where he is.
   "Next to a tankful of minnows, somewhere off the road in Wisconsin," he says, speaking in his distinctive voice with mordant delivery.
   Nor will he say what he’s been doing — although his Web site boasts appearances on soundtracks and compilation albums, guest roles on PBS children’s shows and commercial work. But look for background information in one of the "bibles" of pop music, like the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock, and there’s no entry for Leon Redbone. He won’t tell what part of the country he’s from, or what designer or tailor is responsible for his sartorial splendor.
   "Ah yes, Senor Satori," is all he’ll say when asked about his elegant clothes.
   It seems that all Mr. Redbone is concerned with is his role as a singer of wonderful old songs, especially those that are "melodic, simple but sophisticated," he says. "It’s the music that’s more important to me."
   Mr. Redbone will perform at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton Dec. 8, in an intimate concert On Patriots Stage.
   A master of the acoustic guitar whose stage exploits fall somewhere between vaudeville and performance art, Mr. Redbone says, "I am totally absorbed in the business of learning, but I don’t want to be an apprentice to the business of learning."
   An accomplished player, Mr. Redbone’s fingerpicking is delivered with a ragtime bounce, mirroring the style of Blind Blake, a guitarist from the late ’20s and early ’30s.
   Yet, he also hesitates to expound on his theory of playing and collecting songs.
   "I simply want to absorb everything I can and not be compartmentalized in my approach," Mr. Redbone says. "I only know what sounds good to me."
   He says he’s a person more connected to the past than the future, someone who likes "everything old." But that’s about all the categorization he’ll allow.
   "I don’t have any affiliations," Mr. Redbone says. "The way I view it, for more than 100 years, there’s been a concerted effort to label groups of people. It’s basically a structural trap of society. In recent years, it’s isolated people within neighborhoods and cities. So then, they somehow need a surrogate, usually by supporting a local sports team and living through those people as a means of some identity or belonging to something.
   "When I take over, spectator sports will be eliminated," he continues. "I think people should look inward instead of connecting themselves to something like barnacles. Living one’s life on a collective sense has never appealed to me and I just don’t understand the concept. But this is what’s happening in music. To me, the collective doesn’t even come into the equation. Music either has to move you or it doesn’t. If you’re going to see someone perform because you’re in that group of devoted fans, it does a disservice to the music. With me, I would hope that most people share this connection to a historical love for the music — what it relays and the sentiments expressed."
   Known for his idiosyncratic arrangement of songs by Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams, Mr. Redbone takes tunes from long ago and makes them sound fresh.
   The mystery man has been dabbling in eclectic activities — film, television and commercial projects. He performed the theme music to the former ABC series Mr. Belvedere, has recorded numerous commercials and made appearances in children’s television, singing the "The Alphabet Song" on the PBS program Between the Lions.
   He also contributed "Russian Lullaby" — an adaptation of the classic by Irving Berlin — to the compilation Daddies Sing Goodnight: A Collection of Sleepytime Songs (Sugar Hill Records, 1994). So, does he remember the old song from his childhood? Perhaps he was lulled to sleep to the melody?
   "No, we didn’t have music that far back, it wasn’t invented yet," Mr. Redbone says, again deflecting the personal and instead giving compliments to Mr. Berlin. "I’ve always liked his songs although not the show tunes. But there are others that are unbeatable and I like to perform those select few. One you don’t hear very often is ‘I Forgot to Remember.’ He wrote some fascinating material and I want to give Irving his due."
   Just a couple of years ago, Mr. Redbone was the voice of a snowman in the movie Elf, starring Will Ferrell. This year he released a live CD, recorded in Paris in 1992 and available from Rounder Records. Mr. Redbone’s last studio recording was Any Time (Rounder, 2001).
   Folks of a certain age might have first seen Mr. Redbone on one of several appearances on Saturday Night Live, when his gentlemanly persona was a stark contrast to the grungy, youthful cast. Mr. Redbone’s first time on the show was Feb. 28, 1976. (Jill Clayburgh was the guest host.) He also stood out in an era of stadium rock, when the ideal of a male star in the music business was someone macho and over-the-top like Robert Plant or Mick Jagger, Mr. Redbone’s archetypal opposites.
   He resonated with music lovers who remain faithful and appreciative of his craft, taste and sense of humor. Maybe it’s the mystery that keeps the faithful coming back for more.
   "I do believe there are people out there interested in something other than being drowned by noise and sound amidst 100,000 other people who are willing to trample them at any given point," Mr. Redbone says. "It must appeal to some, but wild horses couldn’t take me to a place like that. I’m simply not complying with the beat of the modern drum. (To me) music is plain, simple songs with some thought given to the melody. Ultimately that’s what I’m interested in. That’s all there is to it."
Leon Redbone will perform On Patriots Stage at the War Memorial, West Lafayette and Barrack streets, Trenton Dec. 8, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $35. Note: At press time, a limited number of tickets were available. For information, call (609) 984-8400. On the Web: www.thewarmemorial.com. Leon Redbone on the Web: www.leonredbone.com