Part of what makes us human is the ability to recognize and create beauty. Even more amazing is to watch how beauty can emerge from tragedy. The music of Andres Godoy is beautiful. It almost certainly would not have this same sense of joyful beauty had it not been for "the accident". Here is the riddle: how does beauty emerge from ashes and joy from heartache? The thing that could have crushed the artist instead drives him to new levels of creativity and perception. Andres has quite a story. You can visit his website to find out more. In one sense...it has everything to do with his music. In another sense, nothing at all. One might contend that Andres’ music was resident deep in his heart when an unfortunate turn of events nearly sealed it there. Instead of allowing the gift to be buried...he dug deep, turning an underground lake into a bubbling spring. La Rida o el Send, is a wonderful collection of guitar-based songs, some solo guitar, some with vocals and a light sprinkling of additional instrumentation. Our grasp of Spanish is such that we only catch a word or two of the vocal songs, yet the quality of his voice serves to invite, rather than exclude the listener. The quality, production and musicianship of the recording are excellent. There is a fragility and strength that makes this music completely engaging. You'll find three excellent selections from this wonderful composer and guitarist on this page. And when that leaves you hungering for more, check out some of his YouTube videos.
Don Alder would be easy to pick out in a crowd. He would be the fellow with three hands...or at least, that’s what one would expect after listening to his guitar playing. On his Cool Tunes Compilation disc Don gives a tip of the hat to various friends and influences. He has the ability to tap into the essence of his heroes while maintaining his own fingerprint. In his writing (musical as well as liner notes) there is a largeness of heart. This music isn’t about tricks and flash. It’s about processing and communicating life. There is thoughtfulness and joy, as the people and events that have touched Don are transformation into sound. That same sense comes across in his, Take the Train, Eh project (that Canadian sense of humor must be caused by the weather – learn to laugh or go insane!) We didn’t receive and liner notes with this disc but the songs speak for themselves. DRDR (DonRossDonRoss) kicks off this collection with a nod to fingerstyle wiz Don Ross. It shares the same sense of melodic groove that our favorite Ewok is known for. On It’s Only Goodbye, Don exhibits a wonderful sense of lyricism. The melody and bass line twine from the guitar in a way that is almost organic. Don is a great technician with a heart for groove, melody and people. It shines through. You'll find four delightful selections from Don on this page.
Hey...have you signed up yet to be kept up-to-date when we post new music? Our former email newsletter (which we never used) went the way of the internet dinosaur. Now, we have a spiffy new blog, which allows you to be updated via RSS (if you use a reader) or via good, old-fashioned email. |
ABOUT THIS SITE
Welcome to Free Solo Guitar! There's really nothing quite like great instrumental music played on acoustic guitar, as millions of fans worldwide will attest. For many, it started with Mason Williams' huge radio hit, "Classical Gas", way back in 1968. Today, the popularity of this kind of music continues because of fingerstyle guitar masters like Tommy Emmanuel, Leo Kottke, Doyle Dykes, Phil Keaggy, Alex DeGrassi and the late Michael Hedges.
[read more] |
