I play solo, but just as often enjoy playing in ensembles with Phil Rukavina, Rocky Mjos, Paul Berget, Mark Kausch, Mary Burke, Brian Link, the Rose Ensemble and many others.
Influences
Of course, the music is [mostly] written down, so as Wynton Marsalis once said, "the best you can do is not screw it up." But there's much room for interpretation and flourish, so I've been inspired by Nigel North, Andrew Manze, Rolf Lislevand, Jordi Savall, Lionheart, the Hilliard Ensemble, Fretwork, and others. Outside of so-called early music, I am a fan of jazz musicians such as Wynton, David Berkman, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, and my brother, Jeremy.
I've been playing plucked strings for nearly three quarters of my life. Most of those years were on the more familiar modern guitar. I started on classical. After hearing Leo Kottke, I spent the next decade trying to sound like him. Maybe I came to realize that Leo was and is sui generis, so I turned my attention back to classical and then to jazz guitar.
Just out of college I had my first exposure to medieval and renaissance music courtesy my younger brother, who was studying both theory and history of music (I had studied only theory, which as is typical, starts with the music of J.S. Bach). This earlier music clicked for me immediately; its intellectual depth is considerable, but my first attraction was mostly visceral.
Being comfortable with plucks, it makes sense I found the lute. I've been down that road for a dozen years now, and am decidedly hooked. The music is hundreds of years old, but its ability to reach the emotions first, and the intellect later, continues to amaze me.
Hi and thanks for the friendship! We go back in the studio and do the final sessions in our deconstruction of John Dowland’s galliards in December. Material from the September sessions up on the site right now. The Black Bile Galliards/Stefan Östersjö and Natasha Barrett
You have forty friends. that is more than me. I will let you know when I post in the future. Branford played Purcell last night, "O, Solitude". Noble and beautiful. What other good tunes are there for me to play from your era? All the music sounds super good.
Thanks for the request! Good to hear from a lute player from USA. Its a small world with myspace...well played on nice instruments - It sounds very good!
..
