I still remember the first time I saw a friend from my school play a guitar, I have forgotten his name, but not his ability to do something that seemed like magic to me. I have continued to experience the same feeling throughout my life every time someone acted as a magician with a guitar in their hands, but I have not been satisfied with experiencing that fascination, I have wanted and will continue trying, to learn something from them, especially of:
Elegance, precision, virtuosity at the service of melodies with medieval, renaissance, baroque airs and some escapades along the path of blues... Both on his first albums, accompanying folk singers, and in his time with Pentangle, then with the John Renbourn Group or solo, his works are for me the bible of the acoustic guitarist. The Black Ballon (1979) is one of his masterpieces.
In the eighties, folk fans were lucky enough to have the excellent work of the Guimbarda label, directed by Manuel Domínguez, thanks to which we met groups and soloists from all corners of the planet outside the charts: Alan Stivel , Pentangle, Dan Ar Braz, Plantxi… Edited by Guimbarda (with tablature included) a jewel appeared that was endorsed by the Grand Prix of Folk disc in Montreux, the disc was Près de Paris, the first by Pierre Bensusan, he had recorded it with 17 years in 1976 and some of us are still going over his tablatures. Bensusan, of Algerian origin and living in Paris, is the main promoter of the DADGAD tuning, with which he continues to publish excellent albums and develop an intense work as a teacher and soloist.
Born in Germany, but naturalized American Ackerman is known for being the founder of the Windham Hill Records label specialized in new age music, but the first and most important thing is his guitar, the one with which he draws environments in which it is sometimes difficult to find the melody supported in different open tunings. From his first album The Search for the Turtle's Navel (1976) to the latest Positano songs (2022) he has been consolidating and perfecting his guitar technique that inspires so many of us. I have a special weakness for his album Passage (1981).
Celtic music offers guitarists a wide range of beautiful melodies that the open tunings of the acoustic work like a glove. Among the many who have been seduced by the Celtic guitar, Tony Mcmanus is undoubtedly one of those who has set the bar higher as a performer. His knowledge is available to anyone who wants to sign up for his classes. He has also dared with "cultured" music on his album Mysterious Bondaires (2013)
Martin Simpson: www.martinsimpson.com
Tommy Emmanuel: www.tommyemmanuel.com
Stephen Wake: www.stephenwake.com
Gabriella Quevedo: www.gabriellaquevedo.com
Michael Fix: www.michaelfix.com
Tatyana Ryzhkova: www.tatyana-guitar.com
David Russell: www.davidrussell.com
Uros Baric: www.urosbaric.com
Mike Dawes
John Wiliiams