Stefan Grossman - Guitar Landscapes (CD)

Stefan Grossman lived in Europe for twenty years from 1967-1987. He left Amer & shy;ica as a student of country blues and ragtime guitar. When he arrived in London his books on historical blues guitar styles and techniques were being studied in America, Europe, Japan and Australia. Before even touching the stage for the first time as a "professional musician" at Les Cousins in London in June, 1967, his musical visions had influenced many guitarists from pop stars to folk singers. Stefan is hard to classify. He is a teacher with scores of guitar books to his credit. He is also an entertainer who can charm an audience with his musical skills (very much like his legendary teacher (Rev. Gary Davis), and yet he is also a guitarist constantly exploring and expanding his musical horizons. "What Stefan achieved with the blues is a musical ideal that other folk musi & shy;cians, working in different fields, might have followed if they'd had the skill or the imagination. From his base in Rome, he spends part of his time writing books on the early blues and guitar technique, part of his time touring, and part of his time writing. His songs are 'totally blues influenced' he insists, 'though some may not sound like it. Some may sound like jazz or Bach, but it 'blues influenced' because that's my base, that's where I learned about music.' - Robin Denselow/The Guardian