"Bill Lancton: Chameleon" NUVO Newsweekly - November 18, 1999 by Chuck Workman Anyone who's been in Indy for the past decade and goes out for entertainment has, in some public gathering for music, encountered the presence of guitarist Bill Lancton. Lancton -- who, by the way, does bear a passing casual resemblance to Kenny Rogers -- is one of the mainstays of the eclectic popular band Dog Talk. The ex-New Yorker, after 10 years on the road and playing in the houseband at the Grand Ole Opry, settled down in Indy where he now functions as a live performer, studio musician and teacher. His wife and astute business partner LuAnn adds her exceptional skills in promotion, art, audio and video to make them one of the successful husband and wife teams around. Then there is the other side of Lancton, whose ample musical chops bring him back to his core love of jazz. He has just released his second CD, Yeah, Man, featuring a new band made up of local heavyweight players such as Allen "Turk" Burke on B-3 organ, Kenny Phelps on drums, Jon Woods on bass and Michael Beck on percussion. I heard this band at the Jazz Kitchen last month in their debut, and it was a stand up and cheer performance by each member of the group in front of a packed room, led by the smoking guitar playing of Lancton. The easygoing Lancton's eyes light up with enthusiasm when he talks about his new group, and he has worked with a few locally, such as Les Chats du Swing and various trios and duos. With his affable attitude, Lancton is one fun guy to converse with, as this interview shows. NUVO: Of all the schools of jazz that you play, what are you most comfortable with? LANCTON: I think the Latin. I think it's a style of playing for me that feels most natural as a player. But I enjoy playing the standards and the swing stuff. As a matter of fact, I was thinking about going back into the studio with Turk on the B-3 organ, adding a sax and doing some of the straight ahead originals and standards, swinging stuff. NUVO: You have a background of working in a two-guitar setting; do you still like that sound? LANCTON: Yes I do. There is a certain chemistry working when you get two guitar players together, where you kind of propel each other to a higher level. It makes for a little bit of competition and you can really get working off of each other and have a good time with that. NUVO: You have been experimenting with the mandolin; do you intend to bring this instrument to the forefront in your playing? LANCTON: I do, actually. I didn't do any mandolin on this particular CD; it didn't fit, but that's something I intend to get to. When you look at what Cassandra Wilson is doing now, she is using a lot of folk instruments in jazz such as mandolin and even dobra, that's a whole other evolution there that is going on. I certainly want to get back into playing the mandolin on some more recordings. Whatever Bill Lancton is playing and whenever he is playing you will be hearing one dedicated craftsman of the guitar and jazz -- and you, too, will say Yeah, Man.