Category: Fingerstyle greats

Virtuoso Egberto Gismonti’s guitaristic approach stems from both the precision associated with classical guitar and the exploration linked to blues, jazz and rock. Thus, Gismonti says he was influenced in his adolescence by Django Reinhardt and Jimi Hendrix, while he rode the wave of bossa nova following Baden Powell. He gradually integrated pianistic gestures that pushed him to adopt the eight-string guitar, then the ten-string guitar, on which he plays with all ten fingers, like on a keyboard. This playing’s original versatility serves both his solo performance and his international encounters with symphonic or chamber orchestras. His performance with the ensemble I Musici at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2010, where he notably performed his “Dança dos escravos”, left an unforgettable memory. The late Yuri Turovsky, founder and conductor of I Musici, then praised in a few words Gismonti’s successful alliance of classical and popular forms: “music is music!”

Brazilian of Lebanese-Sicilian origin, Egberto Gismonti alternates between piano and guitar. He deploys on the latter his insatiable quest for new sounds, whether they come from the works of his compatriot Heitor Villa-Lobos or the French impressionists, especially Maurice Ravel. He began studying classical music as a child, learning piano with Jacques Klein and Aurélio Silveira, before playing his own compositions in concert. While his first works received a warm welcome, he toured Europe, participated in festivals, and recorded in France, Italy and Germany. In 1969, he studied composition in Paris with Jean Baraqué, a disciple of Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, as well as with the famous Nadia Boulanger. She advised him to return to Brazil and draw from the sources of its immense culture. Settled in Teresópolis near Rio de Janeiro in 1971, Gismonti then embarked on a fertile approach of multiple collaborations and inventions, notably with Nana Vasconcelos, Hermeto Pascoal, Flora Purim, Aito Mureira, Jan Gabarek and Charlie Haden. Later, he collaborated with his children Alexandre and Bianca, who also have become composers and virtuoso instrumentalists.

With over half a century in the business, virtuoso Kinloch Nelson knows just about every type of guitar and every style that depends on it. As a youngster, he played rock, classical pieces, folk, jazz and popular songs. Active as a guitarist from 1969, he studied classical guitar with Stanley Watson and jazz with Gene Bertoncini. From 1973, for 25 years, he taught at the Hochstein Music School in Rochester (NY). He also gave workshops at the University of Rochester, and in 1985 founded the city’s Guitar Society. The Society hosted the world’s finest guitarists for a decade, while supporting local talent with master classes, concerts and help in designing the guitar program at the Eastman School of Music. On his website, Kinloch Nelson offers courses and workshops, and welcomes inquiries from interested parties.

Kinloch Nelson has performed at art centers and major festivals throughout the United States. He has also played in Canada, Ireland and Peru. His personal approach to fingerstyle guitar pays particular attention to the timbre and subtle colors that a good instrument can deliver under his fingers. According to his inspiration, he plays his own versions of pieces by Miles Davis, Bach, John Fahey or the Ventures, for example, always inserting a musicality that is both intimate and luminous.

Martin Taylor, one of fingerstyle’s luminaries, grew up in a family of musicians who loved gypsy jazz. He started playing at the age of four and four years later often played with his father’s band. Influenced from the start by the great Django Reinhardt (1910-1953), he studied with Ike Isaacs who introduced him to the legendary Stéphane Grappelli, violinist of the Hot Club de France quintet. Grappelli first invited him to take part in a few European concerts, then had him join his group full-time. Taylor played Django’s part for the next eleven years, both on stage and on record. This notable presence allowed him to lead a solo career during which he collaborated with jazz and fingerstyle greats (Jeff Beck, Tommy Emmanuel, Chet Atkins, Stephane Grappelli, David Grisman, George Harrison, Jamie Cullum, Bryn Terfel, Dianne Schuur, Gary Burton), in addition to playing with Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. A leader in English jazz, he holds more British Jazz Awards than he has fingers and more awards of all kinds than he can name. The virtuoso Pat Metheny sees him as “one of the most awesome solo guitar players in the history of the instrument”. Chet Atkins simply called him “one of the greatest guitarists in the world.” Martin Taylor has an altruistic philosophy based on his love for music and for the guitar. That’s what makes him a fingerstyle gentleman and an international guitar teacher.

In classical music, “Andrès Segovia” is almost synonymous with the word “guitar”, because of the importance of his contribution to the instrument’s repertoire and fame. At the beginning of the 20th century, the guitar was not considered worthy of the classical domain like the piano or the violin, even in Spain. This lack of recognition came partly from a technical problem: the guitar as it was made at the time did not emit a sound powerful enough for most concert halls. It was also associated mostly with popular music.

Segovia tackled both problems head-on. First, among the models available at the time, he obtained an exceptional guitar from José Ramirez. According to his memory, the maker told him that he would “pay by making its manufacturer known around the world.” Later, he collaborated with luthier Hermann Hauser Sr. to improve the sound of a new model with better quality woods and strings. Both also made the instrument evolve into a larger format that deployed more resonance. At the same time, Segovia was developing a demanding repertoire, both classical and contemporary. In addition to adapting pieces by Francisco Tárrega, while touring the US in 1928 he performed the “Études” dedicated to him by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. A long-term friendship was established between them and they contributed to each other’s reputation. The guitarist also worked on adapting Bach’s repertoire to the guitar, interpreting in 1935 his version of the “Chaconne” from Partita No. 2, a demanding piece for any musician.

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