Barikada
- World Of Music - Svastara - 2007 |
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TIM
SPARKS
Frazee, Minnesota, USA
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Tim Sparks
Frazee, Minnesota, USA
Tim Sparks is acoustic / Americana / jazz musician from Frazee,
Minnesota,
United States of America.
Currently teaching the guitar program at the University of Minnesota in Morris,
a small school of about 1,800 out on the western prairie. It's a wonderful
gig. We're learning Bach, Barrios, Bluegrass, Be-Bop, Bossa Nova, Giant Steps,
Michael Hedges, DADGAD, Django, Merle, Chet, Doc, Wes, Metallica, Shred...
my students are all amazing!
TIM SPARKS BIO:
Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Tim Sparks started picking
out tunes by ear on an old Stella flat top during a bout of encephalitis that
kept him out of school for a year. He taught himself to play the music he heard
around him: traditional country blues and the gospel his grandmother played
on piano in a small church in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
At age 14, Tim was nominated by a musically astute uncle for a scholarship
at the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts. There he studied the
classics with Segovia protege Jesus Silva while continuing to play all kinds
of music, increasingly turning to classic jazz for inspiration. He adapted
compositions by Jelly Roll Morton, Scott Joplin, and Fats Waller to the guitar,
frequently reducing piano arrangements to their essence. Early influences were
Doc Watson, Arthur Smith, and most importantly Duck Baker, who opened up a
horizon of possibilities for fingerstyle guitar.
After a stint on the road with a Chicago-based rhythm and blues band, Sparks
arrived in Minnesota where he soon established himself as a journeyman guitarist
and session player. While recording three albums with the seminal vocal jazz
ensemble Rio Nido, Sparks also became proficient in jazz styles from Brazilian
to Be Bop. It was at this time he arranged Carla Bley's composition "Jesus
Maria" for Leo Kottke. (Rio Nido's first two vinyl recordings have recently
been re-issued on CD on the Japanese Vivid Sound Label. Check out Rio Nido)
Sparks also found time to revive his interest in classical music, adapting
Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" to the guitar, a work that has been cited
as a significant contribution to solo guitar literature. For Sparks it was
a labor
of love that earned him the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in Winfield,
Kansas in 1993.
A sojourn abroad inspired his interest in European and Mediterranean styles,
particularly the music of the Balkans. Upon his return to Minnesota, Sparks
immersed himself in the ethnic music scene, performing on Oud and Saz in Middle
Eastern ensembles and playing guitar in Greek, Klezmer, and Sephardic groups.
This work culminated in the recording of Sparks' "Balkan Dreams Suite", a remarkable
collection of odd-meter guitar arrangements. Many of the "Balkan Dreams" compositions
were recorded on Tim's debut solo CD, "The Nutcracker Suite", in 1993. This
recording was hailed by Guitar Player Magazine as "an exhilarating, odd-meter
minefield inspired by Near Eastern music" and "an important recording
from a gifted composer, arranger, and performer". Two more releases
followed on the Acoustic Music label - "Guitar Bazaar" (1997) and "One String
Leads To Another"
(1999).
Sparks' work came to the attention of John Zorn, the saxophonist, composer,
and curator of Tzadik Records in New York and thereby led to a new cycle of
compositions inspired by traditional Jewish melodies. "Neshamah" (1999) is
a solo effort. "Tanz", which garnered Downbeat Magazine's highest praise, five
stars, in 2000 and "At the Rebbe's Table" (2002) include ensemble work. All
three releases have been acclaimed by a broad spectrum of critics and listeners
alike.
Spring of 2003 saw the release of "Masada Guitars", featuring interpretations
of John Zorn's music by Tim, Bill Frisell, and Marc Ribot. In recent years,
Sparks' musical focus has come full circle, returning to the country blues
and classic jazz that served as a springboard for his worldwide guitar explorations.
He toured with Dolly Parton in 2005 and recorded "Roots, Rags and Blues" for
Truefire / AGW. "Roots, Rags and Blues" releases on May 27, 2007. Find Tim
Sparks tracks on iTunes.
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