Acoustic Music & the Guitar
"Acoustic music is the timeless sound of nature and resonating materials – wood, bone, gourd, gut and skin. It predates the spoken language of modern culture, crossing all borders and barriers. It speaks to great, universal truths of very personal, yet familiar stories. Those stories keep legacies alive, allow them to be shared, and create new ones going forward".
(Derek Johnson aka Musicalist)
Music is unparalleled in both its reflection of and impact on human culture, developing across time, place, religion and culture. It is the door to our souls, the balm for our spirit, an inspiration to feel deeply, our common language, and the heart of community.
Acoustic instruments were dictated by the flora and fauna of each area, evolving and cross fertilizing as people migrated across the world. The humble guitar is known for its enormous musical versatility across all cultures and genres. It is the voice of people to tell their stories, and attainable to everyone regardless of wealth or status.
"The guitar is a whole lot more than a guitar....
there's a whole attitude towards life wrapped up in it" (Charles Fox)
Members-Only Acoustic Club
Intimate & Personal
Acoustic House Concerts
$30pp ~ 7:30pm at Casa Las Palmas
323 E. Cabrillo, by the Santa Barbara beach
Joscho Stephan Gypsy Jazz Trio
May 27, 2024 ~ 7:30pm
Django, Swing & More
This Show SOLD OUT! Seats Available for 5/28
The Romani people traditionally lived a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle. Originating in India, their language and music evolved during their westward migration beginning 1000 years ago through the -stans, Persia, Turkey, Greece, the Balkans and finally into Europe hundreds of years later. Threads of those cultures can be heard through their music. Some of the Romani migrated into Iberia as gitanos, combining with North African culture to create Flamenco music and dance in an explosive style with rhymic patterns, and others migrated to France.
Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club jazz) was inspired by the Romani jazz guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt in conjunction with the French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli in the 1930s. Django was influenced by Ragtime and Dixieland music, and developed a distinctive playing style using his index and middle fingers as the others had been badly burned.
Joscho Stephan is a German jazz guitarist well known on the international guitar scene as one of the most creative gypsy-swing players. With a powerful tone and remarkable technical skills, he has an instantly recognizable voice on the guitar with his interpretations of classical, jazz and pop standards in the style of Gypsy jazz. He is joined on this tour with premier players on second guitar and bass.
Joscho Stephan Gypsy Jazz Trio
with Sven Jungbeck and Volker Kamp
Second Night ~ All Different Material:
The Jazz Songbook & More
May 28, 2024 ~ 7:30pm
Richard Smith's
Chet Aktins 100th Birthday Party
June 20, 2024
7:30pm
SOLD OUT! Send a Note Below if You'd Like
to See a Show of All-Different Material on 6/19
Fingerstyle Classical, Ragtime & Swing
Much of the traditional music of Appalachia, including Bluegrass, originated in the stories of the Celts, Irish and Brits that were passed down through song and dance. Many of those dealt with their struggles in the British Isles and migration to North America to escape famine, persecution and oppression.
Kentuckian Merle Travis developed a playing style in 1930’s rooted in ragtime in which his thumb alternated a syncopated bass with chords while his index finger played the melody. “Travis picking” became the base technique for Country and Chet Atkins’ complex, jazz influenced playing. This was the beginning of “fingerstyle” as exemplified by Tommy Emmanuel and many others in our series.
Chet was known as the “country gentleman” for his generosity and sharing his techniques, including 11-year-old English protégé Richard Smith in the clip below, of whom Chet said “he can play anything I can, only better.” Indeed, Richard is one of the most precise guitarists on the planet, playing Country, Jazz, Ragtime, Gypsy Jazz and almost anything else. He is a National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion.
Chet Atkins: "He Can Play Anything I Can, Only Better."
Clive Carroll
The Music of John Renbourn & More
July 22, 2024
7:30pm
The music of the British Isles had a tremendous resurgence during the ‘60’s folk revival on both sides of the Atlantic, led by groups in England including
Fairport Convention with Sandy Denny & Richard Thompson, and
Pentangle with Bert Jansch & John Renbourn.
Reared on American country and old time music, Clive’s breadth of musical curiosity traverses the worlds of soul, pop, funk, traditional Irish music to classical guitar. He became a protégé of John Renbourn, who deemed his debut album “a milestone in the journey of the steel-string guitar”. For this concert, Clive will present Renbourn’s music along with his own.
I Asked In 2015: "Who's The Finest Guitar Player I've Never Heard Of?"
Tommy Emmanuel, Without Hesitation: "Clive Carroll. I Think He's Brilliant."
Upcoming World Class
International Acoustic Music
Dinner Concerts
at SOhO 1221 State St.
in Downtown Santa Barbara
Join the Acoustic Club for $20pp
to receive invitations to these world class shows:
Joscho Stephan Trio (second night)
Richard Smith (second night)
Clive Carroll
Joe Robinson
Transatlantic Guitar Trio
Calum Graham
Leokane Pryor & Kimo West
Brooks Robertson
Diego Garcia
and more! Send a message here to get instructions to join the Club &
let us know what UnPlugged shows - Joscho, Richard or Clive - you'd like to come to.
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So Much Great Music!
It's been an honor & privilege to host live music
by over 100 of of the world’s great string (and more) players since 2016.
We are so fortunate to have such talent amongst us who have the
freedom of expression to do what they do.
Don't take it for granted ~ get out and enjoy it while you can;
the musicians and venues need you now more than ever.
Thanks for your support.
A Call 2 Peace
(with Federico Ramos,
Eduardo Del Signore,
Scarlet Rivera &
Ron Wagner)
Don Alder
Muriel Anderson
Paul Asbell
Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan
Adrian Bellue
PIerre Bensusan
Claude Bourbon
Trace Bundy
Clive Carroll
Michael Chapdelaine
Nick Charles
Chucumite
Craig D’Andrea
Alex DeGrassi
Diego Garcia (Twanguero)
Jerry Douglas
(with Maura O’Connell
& a huge band)
Antoine Dufour
Ken Emerson (w/ Kimo West)
Tommy Emmanuel
(with Richard Smith
& Brooks Robertson)
Vicki Genfan
Nina Gerber & Chris Webster
Teja Gerken & Doug Young
Goh
Trevor Gordon Hall
Mark Hanson
The Hot Club of Nashville
(with Richard Smith,
Annie Sellick,
Pat Bergeson,
Aaron Till,
Charlie Chadwick &
Josh Hunt)
The Idiomatiques
(with Craig Sharmat,
George Quirin,
Kim Collins &
Frank Petrilli/
Brian Mann)
Claude LaFlamme
Christie Lenee
David Lindley
Michael Lorimer
Nick Johnson
J2B2
(with John Jorgenson,
Herb Pederson,
Patrick Sauber &
Mark Fain)
Laurence Juber
Justin King
Kaki King
Alberto Lombardi
Marley's Ghost
(with Jerry Fletcher,
Ed Littlefield Jr.,
Bob Nichols,
Mike Phelan,
Dan Wheetman &
Jon Wilcox)
Sean McGowan
Tony McManus
Maria Muldaur
(with John Jorgenson &
Simon Planting)
Kai Narezo
Kinloch Nelson
George Quirin
Gareth Pearson
Abby Possner
Donovan Raitt
Del Rey
Brooks Robertson
Joe Robinson
Jose Antonio Rodriguez
Sam ’n’ Ash
Richard Smith
Tim Sparks
Joscho Stephan Trio
(with Sven Jungbeck
& Volker Kamp)
Walter Strauss
Luca Stricagnoli
Kenny Sultan
Taimane
Sofia Talvik
The Transatlantic Trio
(with Richard Smith,
Joscho Stephan &
Rory Hoffman)
Hiroya Tsukamoto
Andres Vadin Project
(with Yosmel Montejo,
Diego Alvarez Muñoz,
Manuel Gutiérrez &
Jade Valdes)
Dani Vargas & Jenna Columbet
Carl Verheyen Acoustic Band
(with Dave Marotta
& John Mader)
Willie Watson
Kimo West
Andrew York
"The guitar can truly change the world...we've seen that in ministry and education;
it has affected international borders. It's a very dangerous tool." (Richard Hoover, with a smile)
Background image: Benedetto Guitars