String along for virtuoso guitar gig from Pete Oxley & Nicolas Meier

They are two of Europe’s finest guitarists; light of touch and fluid in style. Playing alone they are amazing, but together they are captivating.

Guitarists Pete Oxley and Nicolas Meier seem to share a telepathic link, their dazzling fingers darting around their instruments in a lighting display of virtuosity.

Their craft has gone down a storm across Europe, and this weekend they are bringing it home for a show at St John the Evangelist Church, in East Oxford.

For guitar-lovers, there’s nowhere else to be; the duo’s intuition, inventiveness and jaw-dropping talent creating joyful instrumental music of passion, spontaneity and flare.

“There’s something we have,” says Pete, who lives in East Oxford. “When you find the right person, that’s when the magic happens.”

Pete is well known in Oxford for helping to set up The Spin jazz club, in the Wheatsheaf pub off High Street, named best jazz venue in the country.

But while Pete and Nic are renowned jazz artists, they are keen to point out this is not a jazz gig – rather a celebration of the guitar.

“It’s different,” says Pete. “It’s more world music than jazz – but, more than anything, it’s a guitar night. We have a mix of influences and will be performing music from South America to Turkey.”

Both men have extraordinary musical CVs. Pete began playing in Paris in the mid-80s, before returning to the UK and settling in Oxford. “We put a pin in the map, and Oxford came up,” he says. “I have always liked the vibe here, even though I didn’t know a single person when I arrived. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else now.”

He opened The Spin in 1999 with fellow jazz musicians Mark Doffman and Raph Mizraki. Three years ago it won a Parliamentary Jazz Award as The Best Jazz Venue in the UK.

The club, is going strong, attracting top flight musicians including, on a couple of occasions, the superstar classical violinist Nigel Kennedy – who confessed he was a fan of the club.

As well as running the club, Pete regularly performs, providing guitar support to the likes of Chris Garrick, Gilad Atzmon, Tim Whitehead, Dave O’Higgins, Bobby Wellins, John Etheridge and his own band Curious Paradise. He has released 14 albums of his own compositions Nic also began playing on mainland Europe, in his native Switzerland. An aficionado of Near Eastern music, he blends jazz and Turkish styles to mesmerising effect. He has toured with his own Meier Group and played beside such big names as Bill Evans and Brad Mehldau.

Perhaps more surprising, he has also played in guitar legend Jeff Beck’s band and has his own heavy metal group, Seven7. “When we are not playing, he loves getting dressed up in black leather and shredding!” laughs Pete. “And playing in Jeff Beck’s band is really something. He’s one of the best rock guitarists of all time, and of the big three of his era – him, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page – he’s the one who has continued to be great, rather than trading on past glories. He still sounds incredible.”

The pair met after Nic sent a demo recording to the Spin, 10 years ago. “It was incredible,” says Pete. “I asked him instantly when he could come, and booked him straight away.”

Pete was so impressed he signed him up to his jazz quartet Eclectica! when the group’s original guitarist moved back to Argentina.

“Nic was perfect,” says Pete. “And I called him up at exactly the right moment, as he was looking for another project.”

They jammed together and clicked. “We locked in straight away,” he says. “It was the most enjoyable session of playing I’d ever had.”

After performing a gig as a duo, the pair set out to record a live album, and travelled to the South West.

“We went on the road,” says Pete. “We travelled to Devon and Cornwall, recorded three concerts and picked the best pieces.”

The result, Travels To The West, was released in 2012. They followed that up in February of this year, with their masterpiece Chasing Tales, which has been critically acclaimed by the national, international and music press.

• Playful: Oxley and Meier have a reputation for exciting musicianship with a touch of humour

The album shimmers with carefully crafted compositions, Pete and Nic switching between guitars, layering sound to symphonic effect.

On stage and in the studio, it certainly sounds like more than just two people.

“We are both from a jazz background,” Pete remarks. “And that comes through in our music, with lots of improvisation and spontaneity in what we do, but there’s also a lot of thought in how it sounds, which is why we take a lot of guitars. It makes for an exciting evening.” At last count, their guitar collection for one show, numbered 10 – including nylon string, steel string, electric, 12-string, slide, guitar-synth, Glissentar guitars and a fretless model.

“We use a real combination of guitars, which keeps things fresh,” Pete says. “It’s really varied and is attracting people who like guitar music – even if they are not into jazz. It is just the two of us on stage with 10 guitars, but it’s certainly not ‘samey’.”

The church, in Iffley Road, was chosen deliberately for the last show of the duo’s 60-date tour.

“We have had two long tours – one in the spring and another in the autumn, as well as playing festivals.

“Over that time we have played in all sorts of venues, with everything from dark jazz clubs to theatres and churches such as this – which work superbly for guitar.”

There’s no denying both men have oodles of natural talent, but, says Pete, a lot of their art is down to practice – hours of it.

“I enjoy the process of practice and do an hour of technique every day before looking at repertoire or anything creative. Last week I played five gigs with five different bands, and all with different repertoires, so there’s a lot of maintenance to do.

“The technique for playing a 12-string is very different to playing a jazz guitar or nine-string.

Both of us also practise classical guitar and use those techniques, playing with our fingers as opposed to a pick, which we use a lot when we play live – and which is one of the most unnatural things to do.

“And I have to warm up before anything else – it’s like being an athlete.”

Where and when
Pete Oxley & Nicolas Meier play SJE tomorrow. Tickets £12, (£10 concs/ £8 students) from ticketsoxford.com