Ry Cooder

For over half a century, consummate guitarist Ry Cooder has shapeshifted his style from ‘30s topical songs to Hawaiian slack key, Tex-Mex twang to Cuban jazz, Indian classical music to pop, bop, and rock. In the latter realm, his list of collaborators includes Captain Beefheart, Randy Newman, Little Feat, and even the Rolling Stones, playing on their seminal Let It Bleed record. Cooder draws apposite depth to each of his endeavors, like on his slide guitar soundtrack for Wim Wenders’ 1984 indie paragon Paris, Texas, stunning for the profundity it achieves through its simplicity in evoking Southwestern desolation and windblown beauty. Cooder comes to the Flynn with his seven-piece band for an evening of career highlights. Opening the show—and joining the band—is Cooder’s son, Joachim Cooder, a multi-instrumentalist who adds a poppier sensibility to his father’s eclecticism.