TWO LOUIES, March 2001 John Fahey 1939-2001
Joanna Bolme of the Stephen Malkmus Band 2 – TWO LOUIES, March 2001 John Fahey 1939-2001 ohn Fahey was a giant influence on the cultur- Chants, Breakdowns, and Military Waltzes, I al development of America. He was the first asked, “Who are these two guitar players?” I pic- Jperformer to expand American folk-blues tured a couple of 50-year-old masters whose melodies into a concert style similar to Segovia— vision of music and spatial technique reminded that is, one man, one guitar, and one grand vision me of pianist Glenn Gould. Here was a performer that encompassed the spiritual essence of Delta who carried his genre to a higher level, whose Blues, cosmic folk, and classical music. probes were deeper, whose vision was wider, “Here was a performer who carried his genre to a higher level, whose probes were deeper, whose vision was wider, whose understanding of the universe was more complete and profound than any before him.” Without John Fahey, there may not have whose understanding of the universe was more been a Windham Hill label of acoustic guitar mas- complete and profound than any before him. John ters. There would have been no Takoma label, gave us the same kind of breakthroughs that we which featured John’s first seven albums and got from Debussy and Stravinsky. It may not have more. There may not have been a Music been possible without him. Millennium... certainly not as we know it. It was It’s incredible that so much talent was John Fahey’s music that inspired the Millennium brought out in a guitarist in his twenties from a founders to open their little Portland record shop little town in Maryland.
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