Amos Garrett

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Amos Garrett is an accomplished American guitarist and performer, most recognizable in popular music for his solo on Maria Muldaur's hit record Midnight at the Oasis.

Besides a charming baritone voice that accentuates his lyrical stylings on blues, country, and folk-influenced recordings, Amos is particularly known by other guitarists for his instrument's signature styles and sounds that frequently demonstrates an amazing control of string bending and tone.

When he does perform live, Garrett is not a flashy, high-energy performer. Instead, he employs a dry sense of humour and understated guitar licks that sound simple but are unmistakably Amos.

He was born on November 26, 1941 in Detroit, Michigan. While Garrett was born in the United States, he moved to Canada with his family when he was four. One of his earliest gigs was in Toronto playing with a band called The Dirty Shames. After playing with various local groups in Montreal and Toronto, and an attempt to study English literature at university, he ultimately chose a music career.

[edit] Early career

His first fully professional gig was with a JFK impersonator called Vaughn Meador.

As his career unfolded, he took part in the sessions for Anne Murray. This resulted in Garrett's guitar work supporting the track "Snowbird" released in 1970.

Garrett also played on tour with Ian and Sylvia and the Great Speckled Bird. Over the course of his career, he has recorded with more than 140 artists, ranging from Stevie Wonder to Bonnie Raitt to Emmylou Harris to Todd Rundgren and even Martin Mull.

Following Maria Muldaur's success with Midnight at the Oasis, Garrett became her bandleader for six years.

Amos was also a member of Paul Butterfield's legendary band Better Days.

[edit] Stony Plain Records

Stony Plain is a label based in Edmonton, Alberta. Garrett has maintained a steady relationship with this label over the years, resulting in nine albums.

His first record on Stony Plain was a series of duets with singer Geoff Muldaur (Maria Muldaur's former husband).

The next two were studio albums (Go Cat Go, done in 1980, and 1982’s Amosbehavin’).

Stony Plain then released a followup, Live In Japan, that was cut in 1990 as the band barnstormed through clubs and concert halls in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Like most of the other records, it was released in Europe, the U.S., and of course, in Japan.

Home In My Shoes pays tribute to Garrett’s boyhood days, especially on Stanley Street, a tune fashioned in the memory of the old Esquire Club in Montreal, where the teenaged Garrett learned by watching the likes of B.B. King, Fats Domino, T-Bone Walker, and Ben E. King.

Amos also included a memorable version of Sleepwalk on this album.

Third Man In is a collection of covers and originals, crisp, emotive guitar playing, and trademark vocals. Garrett’s covers songs penned by some of his favorite songwriters such as Bobby Charles and Percy Mayfield. His rich bass voice charmingly renders tunes from Solomon Burke, Tony Joe White, and fellow western Canadians Johnny V, Dean Cotrill and Mark Sadler-Brown.

The Cold Club is a collaboration with Oscar Lopez, David Wilkie, Karl Roth, and Ron Casat. Amos says,

“

The Cold Club began as a rehearsal project for the five of us to play favourite music forms that didn't fit the styles of our regular performing units. As such, we are liable to do anything, as long as it fits into the definition of World Folk, our new collective genre.

”

Off The Floor Live, the next Amos Garrett release, was recorded live at Edmonton's Sidetrack, the very same club where Amos played his first gig with his band, the Eh Team. Over two nights, the joint was jumping and the record proves what an amazing live club act Amos and his players have become. Supported by Gary Koliger on rhythm guitar and three powerful horn players, the band takes off from the start. Of the 13 tracks, ten are tunes which Amos has never recorded before.

After that, on his next recorded appearance, Amos shared performing and recording duties on the Stony Plain album called The Return of the Formerly Brothers with the late Doug Sahm and pianist Gene Taylor.

Most recently (2004), Amos released Amos Garrett's Acoustic Album, an interesting CD of acoustic music featuring tracks written by Leadbelly and Hoagy Carmichael, among others.

[edit] Amos being Amos

One thing that Amos Garrett has never been interested in becoming is a rock star. He has eschewed the lifestyle of glitz and glamour in favor of a laid-back, more easy-going existence. The main reason Amos isn't more famous is that he's more about the music than anything else, and he has never been one to let anything stand in the way of his making music (including getting famous).

As a result, if you want to see Amos play live, your best bet is to travel to Canada to someplace like Edmonton, Alberta, where periodically the Amos Garrett Acoustic Trio will play a show that features Amos on guitar joined by mandolin and standup bass.

Amos's playing, singing and performing is not about flash; it's about substance and is very appealing to North American music lovers of traditional blues, folk, bluegrass, Appalachian mountain music, honky-tonk, rhythm and blues, soul, and good old fashioned rock and roll.