633 North 5th Street
Cottonwood, AZ 86326
USA
Fingerstyle Guitar Champion Chris Proctor Performs at OTCA
Windham Hill Artist and Fingerstyle Guitar Champion Chris Proctor comes to Cottonwood on Saturday, March 7th, at 7:00 PM in a special live concert at Old Town Center for the Arts.
Chris Proctor, winner of the U.S. National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship, and popular Sugarhouse, Rounder, Flying Fish and Windham Hill recording artist will be performing in concert. An internationally recognized 6 and 12-string guitarist, composer, recording artist, performer, and clinician for Taylor Guitars, Proctor has produced several books and videos that teach his techniques and compositions for solo guitar, and writes extensively for the guitar press. He is touring to promote his new release and tenth solo recording, Close and Personal Friends, on Sugarhouse Records, and his recent concert/interview DVD on Stefan Grossman’s Vestapol Video Guitar Artistry series, Morning Thunder.
Chris Proctor is known around the western world as one of the modern masters of fingerstyle guitar, and is at the forefront of contemporary steel-string guitar. Since winning the National Fingerstyle Guitar competition, he has toured constantly in North America and Europe, releasing a steady stream of recordings of his compositions and arrangements. His music is rooted in classic Americana- spiced with soul, folk, Celtic, jazz, pop, and classical flavors, all of which are in evidence in the 9 finely-crafted medleys which comprise Close and Personal Friends, a stunning set of arrangements of the music he grew up with.
He has appeared on two popular Windham Hill Guitar Samplers and was senior clinician for Taylor Guitars for more than twenty years. To honor him Taylor manufactured 100 “Chris Proctor Signature Model” guitars to his unique design specifications.
One reviewer recently tried to capture the essence of Chris Proctor’s music: “What to call his unique melange of styles? There’s an aspect of Americana in the echoes of Appalachian and old-timey styles that are apparent in just about every track, but there are also elements of jazz, Celtic folk, and a dash of blues in here somewhere. What Proctor does is create guitar music that reflects the whole heritage of the instrument and still has his own distinct stamp — a tall order, but he’s up to the job”
Critics also call his guitar playing “breathtaking,” “haunting,” and “rich.” Guitar magazines describe his compositions as “spectacular,” “elegant,” and “exquisite,” and praise his twelve-string work as “revelatory.” Media reviewers trace the roots of his style to folk, jazz, pop, and classical music, categorize his playing as “Baroque Folk,” “New World Steel String,” “Solo Guitar Orchestra,” “Instrumental Americana,” and compare him to Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges.
These luminous and diverse quotes reveal the breadth and depth of Chris Proctor’s music- his solo, 6 and 12-string guitar concerts and recordings. Two additional comments typify the first-time listener’s reaction: “Wow- I didn’t know that acoustic guitars could sound like that,” and, ” It seems as if there are three guitarists up there on stage, not just one.”
Chris’s warm stage presence and sense of humor, his 12-string and slide work, his adventurous 6-string techniques and tunings, his stunning original guitar pieces and arrangements, and his pioneering use of the electronic guitar bow have all made him a favorite with guitar fans everywhere.
Old Town Center for the Arts Is located at 5th Street & Main in Old Town Cottonwood. Tickets for Chris Proctor are $18 in advance, $20 at the door, and $25 for priority seating in the first three rows. Tickets are available online at showtix4u.com. Tickets are also available in Cottonwood at: Desert Dancer, and Mt Hope Foods and in Sedona at Crystal Magic. For upcoming events, visit www.oldtowncenter.org. For further information, contact Elena Bullard at 928-634-0940.
