| Ralph Towner |
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| american jazz guitarists | |
| towner, ralph | |
| american jazz musicians | |
| 1940 births | |
| living people | |
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Born in 1940 in Chehalis, Washington , Towner is one of the most diversely talented musicians of the past half-century, and has made notable recordings of Jazz , Classical Music , Folk Music , and World Music . He began his career as a conservatory-trained classical guitarist, then joined world music pioneer Paul Winter 's "Consort" ensemble in the late 1960s. Along with bandmates Paul McCandless , Glen Moore , and Collin Walcott , Towner left the Winter Consort in 1970 to form the group Oregon , which over the course of the 1970s issued a number of highly influential records mixing folk music, India n classical forms, and Avant-garde Jazz -influenced free improvisation. At the same time, Towner began a longstanding relationship with the influential ECM record label, which has released virtually all of his non-Oregon recordings since his 1972 debut as a leader ''Trios/Solos''. Towner has also made numerous appearances as a sideman, perhaps most famously on Jazz Fusion heavyweights Weather Report 's 1972 album ''I Sing the Body Electric''. Unlike most jazz guitarists, Towner eschews Amplification , using only 6-string nylon-string and 12-string steel-string guitars. As a result, he tends to avoid high-volume musical environments, preferring small groups of mostly acoustic instruments that emphasize dynamics and group interplay. Towner also obtains a percussive effect (e.g., "Donkey Jamboree," from Slideshow with Gary Burton ) from the guitar by weaving a feather among the strings at the neck of the instrument. Both with Oregon and as a solo artist, Towner has made significant use of Overdubbing , allowing him to play piano (or synthesizer) and guitar on the same track; his most notable use of the technique came on his 1974 album ''Diary'', in which he plays guitar-piano duets with himself on most of the album's 8 tracks. In the 1980s, Towner began using the Prophet V synthesizer fairly extensively, but has since deemphasized his synthesizer and piano playing in favor of guitar. Towner now lives in Rome , Italy . MAJOR COLLABORATIONS DETAILED LIST OF RECORDINGS AS A LEADER
For a list of major Oregon recordings, please consult the group's entry. EXTERNAL LINKS
Listening
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