Robbie Basho
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| Robbie Basho | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Daniel R. Robinson Jr. |
| Born | August 30, 1940 |
| Origin | Baltimore, MD, U.S. |
| Died | February 28, 1986 (aged 45) |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Years active | 1965–1986 |
| Label(s) | Takoma Blue Thumb Vanguard Records Windham Hill Silver Label Recordings |
Robbie Basho (August 31, 1940 - February 28, 1986) was a composer, guitarist and pianist, and one of the pioneers of the acoustic steel string guitar in America. His vision was to see the steel string as a concert instrument and to create a Raga system for America. During a radio interview in 1974, promoting his album Zarthus, Robbie discussed his music in detail. He described how he had gone through a number of "periods" related to philosophy and music, including Japanese, Hindu, and Native American. Zarthus represented the culmination his "Persian period". Robbie asserted his wish, along with Fahey and Kottke, to raise the steel-string guitar to the level of a concert instrument. He acknowledged that the nylon-string guitar was suitable for "love songs", but its steel counterpart could communicate "fire". Basho credited his interest in Indian music to hearing Ravi Shankar, whom he first encountered in 1962.
[edit] Discography
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- 1965 The Seal of the Blue Lotus (Takoma)
- 1966 The Grail and the Lotus (Takoma)
- 1966 Various Artists: Contemporary Guitar (Takoma)
- 1967 Basho Sings (Takoma)
- 1967 The Falconer's Arm I (Takoma)
- 1967 The Falconer's Arm II (Takoma)
- 1969 Venus in Cancer (Blue Thumb)
- 1971 Song of the Stallion (Takoma)
- 1972 The Voice of the Eagle (Vanguard)
- 1974 Zarthus (Vanguard)
- 1978 Visions of the Country (Windham Hill)
- 1979 Art of the Acoustic Steel String Guitar 6 & 12 (Windham Hill)
- 1981 Rainbow Thunder: Songs of the American West (Silver Label Recordings)
- 1983 Bouquet , MC (Basho Productions)
- 1984 Twilight Peaks , MC (The Art of Relaxation)
- 2008 Bonn 1st Supreme, CD Live! (Bo'Weavil Recordings)
