By now, Santa Barbarans have witnessed enough of mandolinist extraordinaire Chris Thile’s one-man concerts that the context has morphed from novel to natural. Thile made an indelible impression in 2014 at the Lobero, with a CAMA-sponsored, Bach-heavy solo show, and he dazzled in a more eclectic mode at Campbell Hall two years ago.
Returning to Campbell Hall last Tuesday, the tall, tousle-haired man wonder — now deep into his fascinating weekly public-radio gig, leading Live from Here — seemed more relaxed, crowd-embracing, and expansive than ever. He’s increasingly comfortable with himself, or more aptly, his multiple musical personalities, an unusually open-eared musician and an organic genius who is inclusive of his listeners along his expressive journeys.
This journey included a snippet of Bach, folk music from the British Isles to Brooklyn to the American South, art-pop originals reminiscent of Gabriel Kahane, samples of his musical-in-progress (about the birth of the telegraph — why not?), and more. Somehow, it all cohered into a unified whole rather than being a piecemeal smorgasbord.