NEWS - NEW RELEASES -IN MEMORY - EVENTS - CYBER NOTES - MEET A.G.
NEWS
Guitar Summit III, a series of concerts that features four distinct guitar styles performed by masters of the instrument, will begin its cross-country tour in October. This year's lineup includes classical guitarist Sharon Isbin, jazz guitarist Herb Ellis, blueswoman Rory Block, and fingerstyle icon Michael Hedges.
Singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, the gifted son of '60s folksinger Tim Buckley, died of accidental drowning while swimming in the harbor of Memphis, Tennessee, on May 29. He was 30 years old. Buckley released his debut album, Grace, on Columbia in 1994.
Bluegrass icons Jim and Jesse McReynolds marked their 50th year of performing together with a celebration at the Grand Ole Opry in March. The brothers have recorded over 50 albums and still make over 200 appearances a year.
NEW RELEASES
Great Guitars, a book published by Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, offers more than 50 full-color, full-page photos of outstanding guitars ranging from Baroque incarnations to modern-day American acoustics and electrics, accompanied by essays written by Robert Shaw.
Crossroads is a new bimonthly trade magazine that tracks folk, roots, and world music. It offers top airplay and sales reports from North American radio stations and retailers, an acoustic radio directory, reviews, and news and profiles of important figures in radio, retail, and labels. For more information, call (520) 792-9891 or Email acoustic@rtd.com.
Warner Brothers Publications has released Craig Dobbins' recording Hymns for Fingerstyle Guitar (see Hit List, May) as a CD/book set in its Acoustic Masters Series.
IN MEMORY
Spanish classical guitarist and composer Narciso Yepes passed away recently at the age of 70 after a long illness. A virtuosic and innovative player, he was motivated by a desire to expand the range and repertoire of the classical guitar. This included the development, with luthiers Ramírez, Bernabe, and Fleta, of the ten-string guitar. The four extra bass strings allowed Yepes to create more accurate transcriptions of Bach's lute music as well as works by lesser-known 17th- and 18th-century composers. He made his professional debut in 1947 performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and was the first to record that work.
EVENTS
The first annual Nashville Acoustic Music and Songwriting Camp, or NashCamp, will be held September 1-6 at Montgomery Bell State Park. Instructors will include Paul Craft, Ranger Doug Green, Russ Barenberg, and Charlie Cushman. For more information, call (615) 292-0967 or Email NashCamp@aol.com.
Oklahoma's first International Bluegrass Festival will take place October 9-11 in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Performers will include Vince Gill, the Dillards, Ricky Skaggs, Jim and Jesse, Claire Lynch, Dan Crary, and Blue Highway. For more information, visit the Web site www.otrd.state.ok.us./bluegrass/.oibf.html.
CYBER NOTES
Celtic fingerstylist John Sherman (see Reviews, June) has had 20 of his pieces in D A D G A D transcribed into tablature and standard notation. The music is available in loose-leaf form via his Web page: members.aol.com/JohnS16545/sherman1.htm.
Duquesne University guitar professor William Purse has received funding from the Guitar Accessories Manufacturer's Association and Fender Guitar to set up a guitar education network on the Web, which will provide many services to guitar players and instructors, including online Email assistance with guitar teaching questions, guitar education and repair tips, electronic surveys, and training workshops.
The catalogue of videos and books from Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop and Vestapol Videos is now online at www.guitarvideos.com. The site will eventually feature a monthly tune in tab that visitors can download and will offer them the opportunity to correspond with Grossman.
MEET A.G.
Acoustic Guitar heads to the 26th annual Walnut Valley Festival, September 18-21 in Winfield, Kansas. Over 15,000 folks from the U.S. and abroad attend this "picker's paradise." The festival features concerts by well-known acoustic musicians, including Beppe Gambetta, Steve Kaufman, Cherish the Ladies, and Front Range, as well as contests for flatpicking and fingerpicking guitar, Autoharp, mountain dulcimer, mandolin, old-time fiddle, hammer dulcimer, and bluegrass banjo. For more details, phone (316) 221-3250; write to PO Box 245, Winfield, KS 67156; or visit home page www.southwind.net/walnut-valley.
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