Guitar Talk

Secrets of master guitarists, revealed in conversation.

Guitar Talk is a collection of interviews with twenty-three of the most creative guitarists of our time. The book celebrates the enormous range of approaches and sounds that exist in the modern guitar. The instrument can howl, scrape, scratch, scream, sing, pluck, and soothe. What stands out in this book is not so much the instrument itself, rather the wonderful and idiosyncratic personalities of these bold souls, their sometimes wild, often zigzagging, and ultimately profound journeys toward beauty, meaning, and excellence in their work.

We find out that jazz icon Bill Frisell won a high school band contest playing R&B tunes, beating out future members of Earth Wind and Fire. We learn which of Nels Cline's compositions he wishes to have played at his funeral. Michael Gregory Jackson recounts painful episodes of racism as he stretched between the chasm of avant jazz, rock, and R&B in the 1980s. Many more revelations, amusements, and philosophies abound from maestros like Pat Metheny, Fred Frith, Ralph Towner, Bill Frisell, Mary Halvorson, Henry Kaiser, Ava Mendoza, and many more of the most interesting guitarists working today.