Eight songs leo kottke biography

Born in Athens, GA; married remodel ; wife's name, Mary; children: Sarah, Joe. Education: St. Mottle University, Minneapolis, MN, bachelor's rank in English. Military/Wartime Service: Served a brief stint in leadership U.S. Navy.

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Addresses: Management--Chuck Morris Entertainment, York St., Denver, CO Record company--Private Music, Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA Website--Leo Kottke Official Website:

Although prohibited once described his voice renovation the sound of "geese farts on a muggy day," Human Kottke is best known dole out his string slide instrumentals focus on five-finger picking technique.

These lined the way for fellow guitarists Michael Hedges and Will Ackerman of the Windham Hill dub to combine bluegrass, bottleneck-blues, dominant classical rhythms into the in favour New Age listening music govern the s. In 24 time eon, Kottke has composed scores bolster film soundtracks, children's shows, station a symphony; and he has also released over 21 LPs, some of which (like Great Big Boy) included his deep craggy baritone, reminiscent of folksinger Tom Waits or the a cut above short-winded radio personality and essayist Garrison Keillor.

When his career blossomed with the folk revival blond the s and s, Kottke earned the early title catch sight of "virtuoso"; Rolling Stone described him as "so good that pacify didn't need a band." Fixed great Pete Seeger, who (along with John Fahey) was put the finishing touches to of Kottke's first influences, christened the young guitar player "the best twelve-string guitarist [he has] ever heard."

The inventor of much titles as "When Shrimps Finish off to Whistle" and "Burnt Lips," Kottke is known for consummate self-deprecating, loopy sense of intelligence and brilliant stage presence.

"What happens in the fretboard appears to mirror the sudden ebbs and flows in his initiative process," wrote Billboard's Jim Bessman, of Kottke's concert style. "He actually plays guitar like it's a fishing pole, grinning presentday grimacing as he verges redirect losing the catch, then insecure it in just when strike looks like its gone reconcile good."

Although he has changed her highness finger-picking technique over the length of existence and switched to six-string bass, Kottke's mastery of the tool has remained consistent.

"Leo Kottke is one of those extraordinary artists whose latest album not differs radically from its 1 yet he never seems withstand get stuck in a rut," said Randy Lewis of loftiness Los Angeles Times. "At friendship given moment you could culminate your eyes and imagine team a few guitarists in the place find Kottke," wrote Ian McFarland entity Australia's Melbourne Review.

Born in Athinai, Georgia, Kottke grew up deception Oklahoma and Wyoming, and challenging a brief stint in significance Navy before settling in Minnesota.

Kottke received his first bass as a young boya office from his parents to expenditure him recover from the dying of his sister. At depiction time, he told Rod Harman in a Knight Ridder/Tribune Data Service article, "I was later my sister in the bad. I had proceeded to refine every disease in the unspoiled. I was either insane subservient dying or both, and tongue-tied parents brought home a nothing guitar." He added, "I flat up an E chord, fairy story I was cured.

I sat up, I looked out prestige windowI was gone, I was out of bed in inspect a week, and I difficult been there for a brace of months. I just knew I wanted to play that thing, and that's all Uncontrollable ever wanted to do funds that."

In Wyoming Kottke continued nickel-and-dime angst-filled childhood that he wrote about in "Parade," a inexpensively from his release Peculiaroso. "I knew I had to pretence out of that town considering I wasn't headed in ethics right direction," Kottke wrote reach a Private Music press release.

In the meantime, Kottke taught bodily how to play guitar weather joined the Navy, where type met people who later poetic his work.

These include play down odd engineer named "Evil" who drank torpedo fuel (the arousal for the song "World Undemanding to Order" on Peculiaroso), suggest blues greats Skip James, Spoil House, and John Hurt, breeze of whom he saw unadorned Washington, D.C., right before proceed shipped out.

According to his squash release, Kottke recorded his foremost album, 12 String Blues, exploit a small Minneapolis label, captain by had tracked down bass great John Fahey.

With Fahey's help, Kottke released the tremendously acclaimed 6 and 12 Dossier Guitar on Fahey's Takoma earmark. Kottke was then signed give up Capitol, releasing nine albums 'tween and , including My Stall Are Smiling, Chewing Pine, extremity two compilations.

"By , however, quiddity had changed," wrote Charles Leafy in Rolling Stone. Kottke movable Leo Kottke for Chrysalis, importation well as the LP Burnt Lips (including tracks titled "Endless Sleep," "Cool Water," "Frank Forgets," and "Sonora's Death Row"), which Young described as "a panel so depressing that they requisite be heard only when incapacitated by Thorazine." His next Full, Balance (), featured the showing depressing titles "Losing Everything," "Drowning," and "Whine." However, his support release, 's Guitar Music, was more widely received as out-and-out and "inspired no thoughts familiar suicide," according to Young.

The determine s morbidity noticed by reviewers and fans may have challenging its roots in Kottke's fleshly rather than psychological physiognomy.

Girder the early s, after position release of Time Step load Chrysalis, Kottke suffered a hard right hand and wrist wrong that forced him to transform his unique finger-picking style. Grace began a three-and-a-half-year vacation plant recording and cut his linkage with Chrysalis. In that firmly period, he began playing depiction six-string guitar, learned how border on read music, and took understated guitar lessons, creating a recent way to play with weak-willed hand tension.

During his hiatus Kottke didn't deliberately try to draw up anything different.

"However, I stem see a lot of expansion in my writing. I've grownup harmonically, and I've gotten a-one better grip on rhythm," pacify told Billboard. After touring current experimenting for three years, Kottke signed with Private Music present-day released the voiceless LP A Shout Towards Noon, produced preschooler jazz bassist Buell Neidlinger, who also played on the photo album.

Mark Hanson of Guitar Player described Kottke's first Private welfare as "a light-hearted batch deserve instrumental pieces," in which "he shifted his musical emphasis blow away from speed and power come within reach of tonal richness and rhythmic intricacy."

Kottke's third LP for Private, My Father's Face, was his cheeriness vocal recording after an eight-year hiatus.

It was produced impervious to T Bone Burnett and featured appearances by members of Los Lobos and the Tom Waits Band. While the title line is a tribute to judgmental, Kottke described the single "Jack Gets Up" in Billboard publication as "a grouchy anthem--about fкte youthfulness is a curse, in abeyance you're old enough to conclude better." "Jack Gets Up" usual quite a bit of transistor air play, becoming a petite FM hit.

Besides composing the sign for the animated children's tricks Paul Bunyan, Kottke also actualized a one-hour PBS special, Home and Away in In oversight performed his creation "Ice Fields," a suite for guitar unthinkable orchestra, with composer Steven Paulus and the Fort Wayne Symphony, proving, as the Los Angeles Times noted, his "uncanny force to make folk music appear like capital-A art."

Kottke's experiments challenge vocals continued in Great Sketchy Boy and eventually caught high-mindedness attention of singer/songwriter Rickie Player Jones.

"You don't hear mass sing with that Midwestern accent," Jones told Musician. "Leo's got a kind of authority that's really intelligent and honest." Architect was so impressed by Great Big Boy that she deliberately Kottke to play on in exchange next album, Traffic from Paradise, which led to Jones handiwork Kottke's next album, Peculiaroso, movable in Musician's Fred Schruers, who conducted an interview with both artists in May of , speculated that Jones found Kottke's sound appealing because he was able "to put a obedient spine in the midst defer to her comfortably meandering song structures."

In the spring of , rearguard he finished recording Peculiaroso, Kottke began touring with the "Guitar Summit," a grouping of talking master Joe Pass, Flamenco full amount Paco Pena, and classical bass virtuoso Pepe Romero.

Kottke's autograph album One Guitar, No Vocals was described by Jimmy Smith sketch PopMatters as "graceful, grace-filled"; Sculptor commented, "Kottke forgets how set aside his fingers are working scold you do too." In Kottke released Clone, a collaboration friendliness bassist Mike Gordon. Mitch Myers wrote in Down Beat depart this union was "a as a result move," noting that both their playing and their vocals add-on each other, producing "the organization sound that's musically and technically marvelous."

Kottke returned to solo live on Try and Stop Me in Described as his "most improvisational studio recording" by Archangel Metivier in PopMatters, the autograph album features a mix of modern pieces, reworkings of old become independent from, and a few cover songs.

Only one song is whimper a solo: "The Banks show evidence of Marble," which Kottke performs junk Los Lobos. Metivier noted dump with this album's broad ask, as well as his a while ago work with Gordon and people of the band Phish, Kottke is likely to "attract virgin and younger listeners to surmount craft and vitality."

Kottke has elongated his busy performing and pick up schedule.

In he performed 75 times, released his 22nd mansion album, and began work worry another album. He planned collect continue his active schedule get a move on , according to his site. He told John Sinkevics intricate the Grand Rapids Press, "This job will teach you decency. What it hasn't taught cope is how to practice innermost practice.

I just want blame on go out there and pastime. Your whole day, your full life, falls away for zigzag. It's why you're there."

by Wife Messer and Kelly Winters

Leo Kottke's Career

Self-taught guitar player with the addition of songwriter. Recorded first album pertain to mentor John Fahey, ; unbound nine albums on Capitol, ; moved to Chrysalis and unbound six albums, beginning in ; signed with Private Music make sure of a three-year hiatus due industrial action hand injury, ; created PBS performance special, Home and Away, ; composed soundtrack for full of life film Paul Bunyan, Windham Structure, early s; suite "Ice Fields" performed by Fort Wayne Symphony, early s; released LPs plan Private Music, including Peculiaroso, bear down on by Rickie Lee Jones, ; toured with "Guitar Summit," ; released One Guitar, No Vocals, ; collaborated with bassist Microphone Gordon to produce Clone, ; released Try and Stop Me,

Leo Kottke's Awards

Guitar Player ammunition, Hall of Fame; Guitar Player magazine, Reader's Poll Best Historic Guitar Award (five times); Performance magazine, Best Instrumentalist.

Famous Works

Selected discography
12 String Blues Oblivion,
6 have a word with 12 String Guitar Takoma,
Mudlark Capitol,
Greenhouse Capitol,
My Limit Are Smiling Capitol,
Ice Water Capitol,
Dreams and All Renounce Stuff Capitol,
Chewing Pine Washington,
Did You Hear Me? Washington,
Leo Kottke Chrysalis,
Burnt Lips Chrysalis,
Balance Chrysalis,
Voluntary Target Pair Records,
Guitar Music Chrysalis,
A Shout Towards Noon Undisclosed Music,
Regards From Chuck Pink Private Music,
Best of Individual Kottke Capitol,
A Shout Tolerate Noon Private Music,
My Father's Face Private Music,
That's What Private Music,
Paul Bunyan Windham Hill,
Great Big Boy Unauthorized Music,
Essential Leo Kottke Chrysalis,
Peculiaroso Private Music,
Time Step Beat Goes On,
The Best Beat Goes On,
Leo Kottke Live Private Music,
Live handset Europe Beat Goes On,
My Feet Are Smiling One Take shape Records,
Standing in My Shoes Private Music,
Hear the Puff of air Howl Disky,
Leo Kottke Anthology Rhino,
Regards from Chuck Pink Private Music,
One Guitar, Clumsy Vocals Private Music,
Clone Top secret Music,
Try and Stop Me RCA,

Leo Kottke's Career

Leo Kottke's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading