A mix of everything

Young Chang

Marc Antoine is Parisian-born, lives in Spain now, spends about

four months of the year in the United States and loves jazz whether

it’s from New Orleans or Africa.

The jazz guitarist’s music reflects this worldly background, but

Antoine doesn’t have to jet around the globe to feel at home

music-wise.

It’s everywhere and nowhere that inspiration strikes the musician,

who will perform today at the Hyatt Newporter as part of the hotel’s

Summer Jazz Festival. Often, it’s in the most mundane places like the

kitchen or the staircase where everyday counter tiles or hollowed,

dome ceilings make for great acoustics.

“There are places in the house where [music] sounds great,” the

39-year-old said. “Usually when you have a great sound and you feel

relaxed, inspiration comes pretty easy.”

Antoine, who enjoyed success in the contemporary jazz world in the

mid-’90s with his “Classical Soul” album, will play songs today from

his five records, including tracks from his new album “Cruisin.”

“I know that he really has a signature sound for the classical

guitar and he has a lot of multicultural flavorings in it,” said

David Lockard, director of food and beverage at the Hyatt Newporter

as well as organizer of the series. “He just has an all-around appeal

from what we call acid jazz to world beat to hip hop.”

Antoine agrees that when it comes to music, he likes and learns

from anything and everything.

“There’s so many good things, musically speaking, in the world

that it would be stupid not to mix them together as long as you like

them,” he said. “The problem is liking too many things. That’s pretty

much me.”

After insisting it would be impossible to state who he was most

influenced by, Antoine chose several. As a guitar player in the

classical world, he was most influenced by John Williams. In the

flamenco style, it’s Paco de Lucia. But he loves Mozart and Bach,

too, he said.

“It’s not necessarily only guitar players,” Antoine said. “There

are so many influences. One guy was an inspiration for six months and

then I discover somebody else.”

He first discovered the guitar as a young boy. His friend was

playing it when it struck Antoine that “somebody, with his finger,

could actually get a sound out of a box with six strings.”

“That was amazing for me,” Antoine said.

Today, his wife is the first person to hear new sounds that float

out of Antoine’s box. The family, currently just Marc, his wife and

his guitar, is also expecting a baby in three weeks. The father-to-be

expects his little boy to become one of his greatest musical

influences.

Antoine’s goal as a guitarist is to provide a sort of music

therapy.

“To make music and to realize you can actually ease people with

your music,” Antoine said. “So that’s a huge goal actually.”