Peter Walker (guitarist)
Encyclopedia
Peter Walker is an American
folk guitarist noted for dextrous instrumental pieces that reference the Indian classical and Spanish flamenco traditions. Recognised principally for his recorded output in the mid-to-late sixties, his rediscovery by the current generation of American and European outsider folk artists has seen his work accorded similar reverence to that of other notable American finger-pickers such as John Fahey
, Robbie Basho
and Leo Kottke
, and granted him a renewed platform for both touring and recording.
, Massachusetts
, in 1937, into a musical family, and began to play the guitar from an early age. He committed himself to touring and public performance from 1959 onwards, becoming a fixture of the Greenwich Village folk scene of the mid-'60s (during which period he became particularly close to Sandy Bull
and Karen Dalton
). Over the same period, Walker's attendance of a Ravi Shankar
performance in San Francisco saw him embrace extended periods of study of Eastern raga under both Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan
. Through mutual Boston associates Walker also developed a strong friendship with LSD pioneer Timothy Leary
, becoming music director at Leary's Millbrook estate in 1965.
Walker's debut LP Rainy Day Raga was released by Vanguard Records
in 1966, followed by the release of Second Poem in 1968. Walker diverted his attention away from public performance and towards family life at the start of the 1970s, but maintained a commitment to study of his instrument, focussing particularly upon Flamenco. In 2007 Walker was coaxed out of this semi-retirement by Joshua Rosenthal of Tompkins Square Records, for whom he recorded four new pieces to be set alongside musical tributes from younger admirers including Jack Rose
, James Blackshaw
, Steffen Basho-Junghans
and Sonic Youth
's Thurston Moore
on the 2008 collection A Raga for Peter Walker. A full album of new material, Echo of My Soul, was released by Tompkins Square later the same year. These releases were supported by extensive touring and live performance, sparking a renewed level of interest which culminated in a recorded session for Stuart Maconie
on BBC 6 Music
, and an extended interview on BBC Radio 4
's flagship early morning current affairs show The Today Programme.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk guitarist noted for dextrous instrumental pieces that reference the Indian classical and Spanish flamenco traditions. Recognised principally for his recorded output in the mid-to-late sixties, his rediscovery by the current generation of American and European outsider folk artists has seen his work accorded similar reverence to that of other notable American finger-pickers such as John Fahey
John Fahey (musician)
John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...
, Robbie Basho
Robbie Basho
Robbie Basho was an American composer, guitarist and pianist, and one of the pioneers of the acoustic steel string guitar in America.-Biography:...
and Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke is an acoustic guitarist. He is widely known for his innovative fingerpicking style, which draws on influences from blues, jazz, and folk music, and his syncopated, polyphonic melodies...
, and granted him a renewed platform for both touring and recording.
Life and career
Walker was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, in 1937, into a musical family, and began to play the guitar from an early age. He committed himself to touring and public performance from 1959 onwards, becoming a fixture of the Greenwich Village folk scene of the mid-'60s (during which period he became particularly close to Sandy Bull
Sandy Bull
Alexander "Sandy" Bull was an American folk musician who was active from the late 1950s until his death.Born in New York City, he was the only child of Harry A. Bull, an editor in chief of...
and Karen Dalton
Karen Dalton
Karen J. Dalton was an American folk blues singer and banjo player associated with the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene, particularly with Fred Neil and the Holy Modal Rounders as well as Bob Dylan.-Biography:Dalton, whose heritage was Cherokee, was born Karen J. Cariker in Enid,...
). Over the same period, Walker's attendance of a Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
performance in San Francisco saw him embrace extended periods of study of Eastern raga under both Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan , often referred to as Khansahib or by the title Ustad , was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod...
. Through mutual Boston associates Walker also developed a strong friendship with LSD pioneer Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
, becoming music director at Leary's Millbrook estate in 1965.
Walker's debut LP Rainy Day Raga was released by Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
in 1966, followed by the release of Second Poem in 1968. Walker diverted his attention away from public performance and towards family life at the start of the 1970s, but maintained a commitment to study of his instrument, focussing particularly upon Flamenco. In 2007 Walker was coaxed out of this semi-retirement by Joshua Rosenthal of Tompkins Square Records, for whom he recorded four new pieces to be set alongside musical tributes from younger admirers including Jack Rose
Jack Rose
Jack Rose may refer to:* Jack Rose , a classic cocktail* Jack Rose American gambler and underworld figure in NYC* Jack Rose , American guitarist...
, James Blackshaw
James Blackshaw
James Blackshaw is a Hastings-based guitarist and pianist, born in 1981. Blackshaw primarily plays an acoustic 12 string guitar and has been compared to Bert Jansch, Robbie Basho, John Fahey, Jack Rose, and Leo Kottke. To enable his fingerstyle playing, Blackshaw has grown long picklike fingernails...
, Steffen Basho-Junghans
Steffen Basho-Junghans
Steffen Basho-Junghans is a German guitarist and composer. He was born in North Thuringia in the former German Democratic Republic. At the age of 17 he taught himself to play acoustic guitar and in 1978 formed the folk band Wacholder...
and Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
's Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
on the 2008 collection A Raga for Peter Walker. A full album of new material, Echo of My Soul, was released by Tompkins Square later the same year. These releases were supported by extensive touring and live performance, sparking a renewed level of interest which culminated in a recorded session for Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week , alongside Mark Radcliffe, called the Radcliffe...
on BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
, and an extended interview on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's flagship early morning current affairs show The Today Programme.
Discography
- Rainy Day Raga (Vanguard, 1966)
- Second Poem (Vanguard, 1968)
- A Raga for Peter Walker (Tompkins Square, 2008)
- Echo of My Soul (Tompkins Square, 2008)