Don Ross (guitarist)

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Don Ross
Born November 19, 1960 (1960-11-19) (age 47)
Montreal, Quebec
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre(s) Fingerstyle guitar
Occupation(s) Musician, composer
Instrument(s) Guitar, vocals
Years active 1986–present
Label(s) Duke Street, Sony, Narada, Candyrat, Goby Fish
Associated acts Men of Steel
Website www.gobyfish.com

Don Ross (born November 19, 1960 in Montreal, Quebec to Scottish and Mi'kmaq parents) is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist noted for the emotion and intensity of his playing as well as his use of extended technique.

Ross's music borrows from rock, jazz, folk and classical music creating a style that he describes as "heavy wood". Ross is the first and only person to twice win the U.S. National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship (1988 and 1996). His album Huron Street reached the top ten on the Billboard new age chart. In the liner notes to Ross' 2003 album Robot Monster, Bruce Cockburn writes, "Nobody does what Don Ross does with an acoustic guitar. He takes the corners so fast you think he's going to roll, but he never loses control."

Contents

[edit] Biography

Ross studied composition at the music department of York University in Toronto with David Mott, James Tenney and Phil Werren. After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music in 1983, he studied philosophy[1] at St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Granby, Massachusetts while living at San Damiano Friary in Holyoke, Massachusetts and then started his novitiate for the Canadian custody of the Conventual Franciscans of Immaculate Conception Province at St. Francis Friary in Staten Island, NY.

In 1986 Ross produced and published his first album, Kehewin, on cassette, and became a full-time musician. He performed as a duo with his wife, singer Kelly McGowan, in 1986 and 1987, and then in a trio called Harbord Trio with her and violinist Oliver Schroer. At the same time he was member of a New Age jazz quartet called Eye Music. He composed music for several theatre productions in Toronto dealing with First Nations life in Canada, such as The Ecstasy of Rita Joe (York University, 1989), Dreaming Beauty (Inner Stage Theatre, 1990) and Big Buck City (Cahoots Theatre, 1991). He has also composed music for the CBC radio serial Dead Dog Café. In 1987 some of his compositions were played by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.[2]

His first place win, after two previous attempts, in the 1988 American Walnut Valley Festival[2] earned him a contract with Duke Street Records, Toronto, where he published his next two albums, 1989's Bearing Straight and 1990's Don Ross. Since then he has released several mostly instrumental CDs, though some of them feature him as a singer. He published three instructional videos, several single transcriptions and a book with nine of his pieces, and worked with the magazine Canadian Musician. At the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals he won a prize with his wife Kelly, and in 1996 he won his second first prize at the Walnut Valley Festival. Since 1997 he guides the Don Ross Cannington Guitar Weekend, a guitar workshop.

In 2001 his wife Kelly died and Ross was left with his kids. In 2005 he married Brooke Miller, a singer-songwriter from Prince Edward Island.

Don Ross was the first artist to sign with independent record label, Candyrat Records, in 2005.[3] The label's roster includes Andy McKee, Nicholas Barron, Antoine Dufour, and his own wife Brooke Miller.[4]

Ross also tours with the Men of Steel guitar group. The band is a mix of international members including bluegrass maestro Dan Crary, acoustic guitarist Beppe Gambetta, and Celtic folk guitarist Tony McManus.

[edit] Influences and technique

Ross names Bruce Cockburn, Leo Kottke, John Renbourn, Pierre Bensusan, Keith Jarrett, Egberto Gismonti and Pat Metheny as his main sources of inspiration.[5] His advanced technique and his sure feeling for rhythm combine with uncommon ideas to make his style instantly recognizable. He often uses percussive techniques and plays intricate down- and upstroke patterns with his thumb. His use of acrylic nails give him a sharp and very defined tone.

Don Ross played a Lowden S-10 in the beginning of his career, but since 1997 has played a Lowden O-10.[5] Today he plays custom-made guitars by Marc Beneteau, a Canadian luthier from St. Thomas, Ontario. The Beneteaus are equipped with a combination of microphone and K&K pickups. Occasionally he plays a baritone guitar by Marc Beneteau, or uses a custom 7-string by Oskar Graf, a luthier from Clarendon, Ontario.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] DVDs

  • 2004: Don Ross: Live, Candyrat

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Answer Book: Nine Original Transcriptions for Solo Guitar, p. 8. Don Ross, 1993. (Goby Fish Music)
  2. ^ a b Native Guitarist Wins International Award, Article in Saskatchewan Indian, December 1988. Accessed on November 10, 2007
  3. ^ Andrew White - Live available on Candy Rat Records. Accessed on November 11, 2007
  4. ^ Candyrat artists at Candyrat Records website. Accessed on November 10, 2007.
  5. ^ a b In Tune. Guitar with Don Ross. Accessed on November 10, 2007.

[edit] External links