The atmosphere within the cozy confines of The Red Door in Portsmouth was claustrophobic on Monday night, as UK guitarist James Blackshaw finger-picked a 12-string guitar. Guests crammed into the intimate space, squeezing into leather sofas or standing along the walls, heads nearly brushing the low ceilings. Blackshaw’s mesmerizing performance set the ambience for what would be a memorable night of music.

Most guests came out to The Red Door on Oct. 8 to see the closing act. As Blackshaw packed up his guitar, bassist/singer/composer Nat Baldwin and a small ensemble of sidemen began setting up. Baldwin, whose peculiar style has garnered him a devoted audience, kicked things off with a solo performance of a brand new song—one so new, in fact, that it is not included on his brand new album, “Most Valuable Player,” which was available for sale at the show. The rest of the band joined Baldwin as he transitioned into “Lake Erie,” the first track on the new CD. As he intoned the lyrics and maneuvered his bow, he swayed in time with his upright double bass, as if waltzing with a rotund woman.

Although his new album is not officially slated for release until January, Baldwin treated fans to an early sampling of his new material on Monday night. Depending on who you ask, you may hear Baldwin’s distinguished brand of music classified as jazz, folk or experimental, but it doesn’t really fit into any individual genre. Suffice it to say that Baldwin has developed his own inimitable sound—one that is more likely to stir the inner regions of the spirit than to get toes tapping.

“Most Valuable Player” is Baldwin’s third studio effort, following “Lights Out” and “Enter the Winter.” Baldwin wrote the music and lyrics to all 10 tracks (he borrowed the lyrics to “Look She Said” from compositions by Morton Feldman and Christian Wolff), and he deftly bows a regal double bass on every song. Other brass, string and woodwind instruments thicken the sound, like fresh ingredients in a hearty stew.

Baldwin’s haunting and emotive vocals are at the forefront of the new CD, projecting majestically above the strings and occasional horns and woodwinds. His singing ascends and falls like slow hills, sonically gentle but spiritually forceful. Each melody is rooted in the vocal progressions, while the instruments etch out disparate rhythms, adding sonic depth and texture. Surging breezes of guitar and bass occasionally pierce the surface to offer audible frills that heighten the music’s intensity.
The lyrics are personal, poetic and mystical, and Baldwin takes his time with every longwinded syllable. A couple of the songs have only 20 to 30 words, utilizing sparse clusters of images to create vivid illustrations. “In a dark parking lot / with even-lined empty spaces / pulsing echoes pound the pavement / under the skies stars,” Baldwin sings in “Only to Find,” his words accompanied only by the tremulous rumble of his double bass.

As in Baldwin’s previous efforts, the lyrics are intimate and introspective, and different listeners are likely to extract different meanings from his often elusive words. A tongue-in-cheek sign of the highly personal nature of his songs is the picture inside the CD case, which shows a young Baldwin in a basketball uniform accepting a trophy, presumably for most valuable player of the 1998 Class C high school basketball tournament. 

Baldwin is joined on various tracks by Will Glass on drums, Charlie Looker on guitar, Dave Longstreth on 12-string guitar and Brett Deschenes on trumpet. Chris Taylor plays flute on “Black Square” and Matt Bauder contributes clarinet on “Mask I Wear” and bass clarinet on “One Two Three.”

Like its predecessors, “Most Valuable Player” will be released on Sparrow Records. Unlike its predecessors, the new album seems to rely more on Baldwin’s vocal abilities than his unique bass style. At times, the listener’s ear strains to hear what the instruments are doing over the vocals, perhaps indicating a flaw in production. It was Baldwin’s fervent bowing, after all, that made him an MVP of the Seacoast music scene.

Nevertheless, “Most Valuable Player” further establishes Baldwin as a serious musician with a distinctive sound that you are not likely to hear anywhere else. It is the type of music that should be listened to with the lights off, surrounded by strategically placed speakers that will channel the racing bass and vibrato vocals directly into your core.