Guitar 3 At The Mill Theatre - Wednesday 22 February 2006

12th February 2006

Caithness Arts Bulletin

The next item on the Thurso Players Professional Programme is to be a musical one. On Wednesday 22 February 2006 we see the welcome return of Martin Taylor to the Mill Theatre, Thurso. On this occasion he will be accompanied by Martin Simpson and Neil Stacey, both accomplished recording artists in their own right.

We can look forward to a fusion of Jazz, Blues and Folk music from the trio who are performing as Guitar3.

Unfortunately, such superb talent always comes with matching fee and to defray some of the costs, ticket price has been set at £10.00.

The Musicians
The most gifted guitarists of the past decade - Martin Taylor, Neil Stacey and Martin Simpson - are coming together as Guitars3 for an unprecedented Scottish tour. Fusing Jazz, Folk and Blues the trio have individually worked with artists as diverse at Stephane Grappelli, June Tabor, Bill Wyman, Bryn Terfel, Jamie Cullum and Jackson Browne while at the same time playing to capacity audiences from New York to Paris, Sydney to Tokyo.

Whether for guitar lovers or lovers of good music, Guitars3 gives the audience an unforgettable evenings entertainment. Each artist will perform as a soloist as well as collaborations with each other.
Martin Taylor is described as "THE acoustic guitarist of his generation" by America's Acoustic Guitar Magazine and has established a unique career as an internationally acclaimed guitarist, his inimitable style seeing him recognised as the world's foremost exponent of solo jazz guitar playing. In a musical career spanning 30 years he has dazzled audiences with his solo shows, which combine virtuosity, emotion and humour, with a strong stage presence. As well as his solo concerts and recordings, he has also collaborated with musicians from many different musical genres including Chet Atkins, Bill Wyman, Dionne Warwick, Sacha Distel, and Chris Rea. In 2002, he was appointed MBE "For Services To Music", in The Queen's Birthday Honours List and in March 2005 his autobiography is released on paperback by Sanctuary Publishing.
Martin Simpson is one of the finest acoustic finger-style and slide guitar players in the world. Winner of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of The Year 2002 and 2004 and also winning Best Album in 2002 for The Bramble Briar, he is a superb interpreter of traditional music and song from Europe and from the American South. Growing up in Lincolnshire he was inspired by the likes of Martin Carthy, Davey Graham and Richard Thompson during the folk revival of the 60s. He was also hugely influenced by the recordings of Big Joe Williams, the Reverend Gary Davies, Blind Willie Johnson and Doc Watson, which has led to an eclectic style of playing and repertoire that is all his own. He has worked with the likes of Jackson Browne, David Lindley, June Tabor, Martin Carthy and Eric Bibb and is a popular and much loved solo performer.
Both spell-binding, and highly entertaining, he is a master of his craft.

Neil Stacey formed the Django Reinhardt inspired group the Kimbara Brothers who have since recorded six albums and toured festivals extensively in the UK and Europe. In 1992 Neil formed Acoustic Mania with Antonio Forcione and they made their live and recording debut at the Edinburgh festival in 1993. In 2002 Neil and Dominic Miller released their first album, and now performs with Sting's percussionist Rhani Kriji and Mike Lindup (Level 42). Neil's first purely solo album "And?" on the German Acoustic Music label met with rave reviews from critics.