A Blues of Multiple Hues : The Upbeat Piedmont Style of Acoustic Duo Cephas & Wiggins Captures Emotions of the Moment

Listening to the scorching guitar licks of the electric blues can send chills down one’s spine. Little compares to the force behind a solo laid down by a Buddy Guy, Albert Collins or Luther Allison. Still, the hard-driving, amplified sounds of Chicago-style blues don’t suit everyone’s taste and mood, particularly when quieter, more intimate moments are called for.

Some equally expressive guitar pickers do mine a subtler, acoustic-based territory, where nuance and understatement cultivate a powerful, unique vibe. John Hammond, who’s excelled at it for more than 30 years, readily comes to mind.

Another practitioner of traditional acoustic blues is John Cephas, who, along with harmonica player Phil Wiggins, is a prominent torchbearer of a folk-based strain of rural black music known as the Piedmont Blues. The acoustic guitar-and-harmonica duo performs tonight at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library.

The Piedmont area stretches from Delaware to Florida, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Blue Ridge Mountains, and its blues is defined by a finger-picking guitar style where an alternating thumb-bass pattern supports a melody on treble strings. This rich, vibrant and generally upbeat music fuses various elements of ragtime, country, folk and blues styles.

The Washington, D.C.-based Cephas & Wiggins first teamed up in 1977 after meeting at the Smithsonian National Folklife Festival. Their dedication to the genre and frequent touring reached fruition in 1987 when they won two prestigious W.C. Handy Awards, the blues equivalent of the Oscars. They were named blues entertainers of the year, and their debut album, “Dog Days of August,” was named best traditional blues album.

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The two, whose latest album is “Cool Down” (1995), have emerged over the years as ambassadors of country blues. Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, they’ve traveled to Africa, South America, China, New Zealand, Australia and Russia.

The 1989 Moscow performance is more than a distant memory for “Bowling Green” Cephas, whose nickname comes from a town in Virginia where his family often spent its summers.

“I still stand in awe of that trip to the [then] Soviet Union,” says Cephas by phone from his country home in Woodford, Va. “At a time obviously before all of the radical political changes, we were welcomed into a Communist country with such open arms. That warm feeling . . . oh, it was beyond words and imagination.

“People say music is an international language, that sincerely played music is understood by people all across the world. I’ve found that to be true. . . . We’ve been received with so much exuberance by folks who don’t even speak the American tongue.”

Cephas and Wiggins will be heading home when they catch a red-eye flight out of LAX immediately after their second set tonight so they can perform Sunday for President Clinton’s inaugural gala. They will appear at the Smithsonian’s Carmichael Theatre as part of the “An American Journey: Building a Bridge Across America” celebration.

But no matter when and where they play their “back-porch blues,” says Cephas, it’s capturing those in-the-moment emotions that creates such spontaneity during their concerts.

“With a lot of people, when you say blues, they think you’re talking about music expressing only adversity and hardship,” offers Cephas, who was taught to play guitar at age 9 by a cousin. “But that’s not true. I don’t think people have really taken a close look at the blues.

“The blues can rejuvenate you; it can pick you up when you’re down. It’s like so many other art forms that express every emotional aspect of your life. Sometimes you’re happy; sometimes you’re sad. . . . Some days you want to jump up and dance, while others you’re ready to break down and cry.”

Inspired by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Tampa Red and the Rev. Gary Davis, Cephas & Wiggins strive not only to entertain their audience but also to educate them. Cephas, who holds guitar workshops and visits schools in the District of Columbia, bemoans the fact that kids today have little understanding of blues’ roots. He’s doing his part to change that.

“They might know some contemporary forms, like R&B; and rap, but a lot of the young folks are unaware of the traditional blues and its contribution to the musical world,” says Cephas, 66. “When I talk to some of these kids about its history and background, they often look amazed. I think our little chats help them see where today’s music got its start.

“The essence of the Piedmont Blues are the true-to-life stories told in its songs,” continues Cephas, who shares the songwriting with Wiggins. “I think the music has the same effect on people today because our day-to-day life experiences haven’t changed all that much. You know--love, joy, disappointment and heartache--it all still rings true.”

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But unlike the twosome’s louder, plugged-in contemporaries, Cephas & Wiggins voice their thoughts and emotions with a softer touch.

“You don’t have to be loud to get a point across,” says Cephas, who says he enjoys opera, country, R&B; and jazz. “One reason I was attracted to--and stuck with--the traditional folk-blues is because the electronically produced music is kinda harsh. Sometimes it’s so loud you need earplugs. I prefer something a little more pleasing to the ear.”

* Cephas & Wiggins perform tonight at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library, La Sala Auditorium, 31495 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano. 7 and 9 p.m. $3-6. (714) 248-7469.