Martin Taylor: Standards

Martin Taylor plays the National Centre for Early Music on Sunday 4 October, with the concert running from 6.30pm to around 8.30pm. It's a solo show called Standards, and as the title suggests, the set is built around the Great American Songbook. Taylor's taking classic tunes from that era and giving them fresh arrangements, so it's a night of jazz standards rather than his own songwriting.

If you're not familiar with him, Taylor is a multi-award-winning guitarist known for his fingerstyle technique—playing bass, chords, and melody all at once—and a warm stage presence. He's been at it for six decades, and that career includes working with Stéphane Grappelli and Tommy Emmanuel. He's earned a fair bit of praise from other guitarists along the way: Jeff Beck once called him 'the best guitarist in the world', and Pat Metheny described him as 'one of the most awesome solo guitar players in history'.

Standards is a brand-new solo show, so it's a new way of hearing those old songs. The NCEM is also running a few other concerts around the same time, and they've set up a couple of deals if you want to see more than one: you can book this date alongside another and save £5, or book all three and save £9. There's a £1.50 administration fee per transaction.

Tickets are £24, with concessions at £22 and under-35s at £8. The venue is the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM), inside St Margaret's Church on Walmgate, York, YO19TL. It starts at 6.30pm on Sunday 4 October.