THE :'(LASSES

THE(STAFFrJOHN JACKSON, GuilillJohn Jackson, currently 78 yearsold, has carried his warmth and hismusic to.ove( 60 nations. ln 11986

l-. he received the coveted Americ~nrNational Heritage Award from theNational Council for the Traditional

i.. iArts. John's latest album; ,Front Pordl Bluefon Alligator~jRecords was nominated for ,stTraditipnal Album Of The Year for 1999by Ithe Memphis Blues Founda,tion. John's classes during Blues Week willbe for the intermediate to advanced finger-pickers. His vast and variedrepertoire includes the east coast blues traditions, old-time whitehillbilly music, medicine show entertainment tunes and ragtime.

MICHAEl ROACH, GuilillMichael Roach has had years ofexperience organizing concerts,directing festivals and conductingworkshops. Upon moving to Britainin 1995, he has travelledextensively for the visiting artist-in·the·school programs throughoutEurope. With three CD albums tohis credit, the latest releaseGood News Blues, Michael hasfirmly established himself withintraditional music circles. His class is for beginners and intermediateguitarists. He will teach basic chord progressions, rhythm, andplaying alternating bass patterns in country blues.

MICHEL LELONG, GUitillMichel Lelong, from Tours (France),started playing guitar at the age of 13after hearing a recording byJohn Jackson. He was influenced by hisolder brothers who were ail fond ofAmerican tradition al music. ln 1996,the Paris music publisher "editionsGuitar Connection" released the firstof Michel's IWO educational videos onCountry and Blues Styles. Michellaterreleased a country blues guitar methodbook of 75 pages with CD where alarge range of techniques is explained in;detail. For Blues Week, Michelwill teach beginner to intermediate students focusing on alternatingbass fingerpicking styles.

JOHN MILLER, GuilillJohn Miller was inspired to take upthe Country Blues guitar after seeingMississippi John Hurt at the 1963Philadelphia Folk Festival. He taughthimself to play guitar by listening torecords and recorded his first album in1973. Since that time he has come tobe recognised as one of the foremoslauthorilies on country blues guitar.He has recently released 3 instructional videos for Stefan Grossman'sGuitar Workshop focusing on the music of Furry Lewis, Bo Carter, andRobert Wilkens. John's class will focus on learning country blues guitarby ear. This will provide students with the tools needed to figure out thesongs you would most like to learn from recorded sources.

LOUISIANNA RED, GuilillLouisiana Red is one of the artiststhat were active during the formativeyears of blues music. Born inVicksburg, Mississippi, in a careerspanning Over half a century, -Louisiana Red not only plays theBlues, he lives it through his guitarand his singing. When Red performs,the songs are often only a launchingpad for expressing his immediatefeelings in the almost lost tradition of spontaneous composition thatgoes back to the original Delta Blues artists. ln 1983, he won a W.C.Handy Award for Best Tradilional Blues Artist. If you ask Red about hispast successes, he would much rather talk about his latest CD project,a new song or a new guitar lick. Red's slide class is for intermediate toadvanced students.

MICHAEL MESSER, GuilillMichael Messer is a sOde guitarmaster. His obsessive appetite forknowledge of the art is virtuallyunequalled. He has an outstandingreputation amongst musicians andgenerally people regarded to be'in the know', without ever havinghad the proper support necessary tointroduce his music to a wideraudience until he signed to Catfish Records and released the highlyacclaimed album, King Guitar, last year. Newtone Strings in conjunctionwith National Resophonic Guitars have a Michael Messer brandspecifically made for the National steel guitar, which reflects the esteemin which he is held. For Blues Week, Michael will conduct a 'master class'on bottleneck styles for beginner to advanced students.

PHIL WIGGINS, HillmOniciiBlues Week welcomes the return ofPhil Wiggins, from Washington, DC. He isthe leading practitioner of the east coastcountry blues style. A creative songwriterand harmonica virtuoso, he forms haIf ofthe great partnership, Cephas & Wiggins.ln 1987, they won two W.C. Handy Awardsfrom the Memphis Blues Foundation, Best Traditional Album of the Yearand Blues Entertainers of the Year. Now on Alligator Records, Cephas &Wiggins have been together for 25 years and they are still in demand.Phil's class will focus on harmonica techniques of the east-enastcountry blues style. For intermediate to advanced students only.

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