Pierre Bensusan
Biography
Born in Oran, French-Algeria, in 1957, Pierre Bensusan's family moved to Paris when he was 4. He began formal studies on piano at the age of 7 and at 11 taught himself guitar. Influenced in those early days by the folk revival blooming in Britain, France and North America, Bensusan began first to explore his own diverse musical heritage and then moved to the horizons beyond. At 17 he signed his first recording contract and one year later, his first album, Pres de Paris, won the Grand Prix du Disque upon his debut at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland.
Working exclusively in the unusual DADGAD tuning, Pierre has developed a signature vocabulary that incorporates elements of Celtic music, American folk and Middle Eastern music, Latin and & Jazz. International tours and innovative recordings have established him as, in the words of pianist George Winston, "one of the truly gifted musicians of our time - he plays the guitar as if it were the very soul of himself... Pierre is a musician who takes chances, and as such he is delving into many unique and previously unexplored techniques and sounds."
If “world music” is music that pays tribute to the spirit of a collection of human beings through distinct rhythms, traditional instruments and harmonic colors, Pierre Bensusan can be recognized as one of the most eloquent and diverse world musicians of our time. In his solo concerts that could last nearly 3 hours, and take the listener throughout the palette of emotions, between anxiety, serenity and deep joy, Bensusan weaves together the music from so many lands and so many times in history, no list of reasonable length here would suffice. And for each piece Bensusan describes as being influenced by “a man from Iraq”, or the Middle Ages, or the essence of the Brazilian culture, each piece is informed by much more. None can be isolated as simply “Brazilian”or “French”; rather, they represent our world in its current state, a world sharing itself, fusing cultures together in ways we have never experienced.
Says the accomplished composer and fingerstyle virtuoso, "I think it's important for me as a musician to not reveal too much of myself, but to show that I'm not necessarily at the place where people think I am. I don't know if this is good or not commercially speaking, but I feel that it's good for me to keep my interest and drive intact, the audience interested, motivated and curious to come and check me out regularly."
Discography
RECORDINGS
- Alitplanos (2005 Favored Nations)
- An Evening with International Guitar Night (2004 Favored Nations)
- Intuite (2001 Favored Nations)
- Live au New Morning/Live in Paris (with Didier Malherbe) (1997)
- Wu Wei (1993)
- Spices (1988)
- Solilaï (1981)
- Musiques (1979)
- Pierre Bensusan 2 (1977)
- Près de Paris (1975)
VIDEOS
- Pierre Bensusan in Concert
- The Guitar of Pierre Bensusan, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
- A World of Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar, Vol 1 & Vol 2
Performance Reviews
"Pierre’s music gives me the shakes. No other guitarist shares his strange gifts of sophistication, accessibility and downright joy. Even at its most complex, Pierre’s music only needs ears to be enjoyed." - Leo Kottke
"Listening to Pierre Bensusan is rejuvenating. Beside his extraordinary touch and tone, the notes and melody appeal directly to the tender side of our human nature." - Steve Vai
"One of the truly gifted musicians of our time -he plays the guitar as if it were the very soul of himself." - George Winston
"Pierre has really created something, I love what he does" - Doc Watson
"Pierre, what you do with folk music, and how you transcend all these various idioms to bring them into to the language spoken today is very important, don't change !" - Pete Seeger
Pierre Bensusan web site
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