Ben Harper Pulls From Past a Modern Voice

How many musicians, famous and obscure, have been acutely influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Led Zeppelin and other hard-rock heroes whose decades-old work serves as template for much of ‘90s music? Artists tend to recognize genius and--consciously or not--absorb it, in varying degrees, into their style.

For every Frank Marino, who slavishly aped Hendrix to the point of farce, there are others who use the past as a mere launching pad. The idiosyncratic music of Ben Harper, who plays tonight at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana, bridges the new generation gap. Something of a musicologist, he has listened to essential music of all stripes and interpreted its lessons in his own modern voice.

Harper, 27, grew up in Claremont among family members who incessantly played records and instruments. He wore out the grooves on his collection of Hendrix, whom he still loves, along with such other genre-and-era-spanning artists as Muddy Waters, Zeppelin, Pearl Jam and Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

“I’m a listener,” Harper said in a recent phone interview. “I wish I had more time to listen to all the things I’d like. People are giving me tapes all the time, and I pop them in on the [tour] bus or wherever I can. I try to keep my mind open. If my mind is open to different music, my mind is open to the world.”

These myriad influences surface on Harper’s recently released third album, “The Will to Live.” The sound is at once jaunty and meditative, rootsy and contemporary. Always, the sway of his mentors comes through as assimilated knowledge rather than imitation. One reason for that is Harper’s use of a Weissenborn guitar, a rare acoustic instrument made of a single piece of wood. Many of the songs on “The Will to Live” are built up like little cities, with Harper’s multitrack playing in both conventional and bottleneck styles creating an ethereal, flowing aura.

The album also shows remarkable growth since Harper’s 1993 freshman effort, “Welcome to the Cruel World.” While an auspicious debut, “Cruel World” was more derivative than “Will,” fitting comfortably into the acoustic singer-songwriter genre. And on the earlier work Harper addressed his socio-political concerns somewhat heavy-handedly, if thoughtfully. Where “Cruel World” made listeners want to sit up and study Harper’s words, experience his righteous anger, “Will” invites them to relax and enjoy the ride. The amplified material--with its slinking, hypnotic melodies--recalls the nascent psychedelic explorations of early Zeppelin and prime Hendrix.

*

Perhaps most significant, where “Cruel World” was confrontational, “Will” is contemplative.

“It’s a musical evolution, one that hopefully marks a progress through my applying discipline into everyday growth,” said Harper, who lives in Los Angeles. “Hopefully, that progress is communicated in a positive musical spirit. When Bob Marley sings ‘Get Up Stand Up’ or ‘Three Little Birds Sing at My Doorstep,’ I see the thread between them.

“Whether he’s telling you to fight for your rights or to listen to the birds sing sweetly, not to worry about a thing, it’s from the same place, just a different song.”

Harper approaches his life and music from a spiritual realm, and here too tensions have eased. While God seemed to represent a great payback to evil-doers in Harper’s earlier output, faith has now become a source of inner comfort, whether he’s singing the praises of Jah or Mary.

“I believe in the wisdom of the spirit, not the segregation of God or religion,” Harper explained. “But I can’t tell anyone what to get from my music. Whatever you get, I’m down. I can’t talk about myself through others’ perceptions. My head’s in a musical place.”

Harper says he is driven to succeed, not commercially but artistically.

“I always try to push my own limits, to grow and surprise myself,” he said. “I’m working really hard to keep things new and different without being too tricky or clever about it. I just want to keep working beyond my own limitations, I want to play the music I hear in my mind, and I want to keep moving and challenging my abilities.”

* Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals play tonight at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 7:30 p.m. $21.50-$23.50. (714) 957-0600. Also, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Palace, 1735 Vine St., Los Angeles. $22.50. 8:30 p.m. (213) 462-3000.