A Solo Guitar Adventure

Details

Sam Frampton full profile / Solo guitar / 1 musician

Full program notes

The majority of the program consists of original compositions for solo guitar. I feel especially at home playing my own compositions, which blend classical technique with bossa nova rhythms and jazz harmonies. I'll also pay homage to my influences by playing Antonio Carlos Jobim's bossa nova classic "Girl from Ipanema" and the less-known "Tristezas de um Violão" ("A Guitar's Lament") by Anibal Augusto Sardinha. I enjoy playing these two pieces because of their memorable melodies and infectious rhythms.

Full program:
"Song of the Sun Man"
"Can't Fix the Rain"
"Like a Star, Who You Are"
"Such a Lonely Heart (Right from the Start)"
"Girl from Ipanema" - Antonio Carlos Jobim
"El Vaquero"
"Tristezas de um Violão" - Anibal Augusto Sardinha AKA Garoto
"Plains Winter"
"The Bead"
"Big Bill"

All compositions by Sam Frampton unless otherwise noted. Program subject to change. All selections will be announced from the stage.

Historical context

Tonight I'll be drawing on three distinct musical lineages.

The first tradition I'll be borrowing from is classical guitar. While "classical music" might not be the first thing you think of when you hear "guitar," the instrument has a history in Western art music going as far back as the Renaissance. Some of the architects of modern classical guitar technique include Francisco Tarrega, Andres Segovia, and Julian Bream. My personal favorite composers for classical guitar are Heitor Villa-Lobos, Frantz Casseus, and Leo Brouwer.

The second tradition I emphasize is jazz, specifically the jazz guitar style pioneered in the 1960s by players such as Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, and Kenny Burrell. Heavily influenced by the "bebop" movement, these artists expanded the possibilities for melodic improvisation on the guitar.

Finally, my compositions draw on the bossa nova movement and its predecessors. Bossa nova began to emerge in the 1950s. It is best known for its unique fusion of samba rhythms with jazz harmonies. A lesser-known influence on bossa nova is a style of Brazilian popular music called choro. "Tristezas de um Violão," which I will be playing tonight, comes from the choro genre.

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