Don Ross
Biography
The son of a Scottish immigrant father and a Mi'kmaq aboriginal mother, Don Ross was born in Montreal in 1960 into a musical family. He first started experimenting with the solo possibilities of the acoustic guitar at the age of eight. By age ten he was playing in alternate tunings and exploring "fingerstyle" technique, a right hand discipline similar to classical guitar playing. Don graduated from the Music Department of Toronto's York University in 1983, but waited until 1986 to start pursuing a career as a performer.
In the spring of 2001, his young wife Kelly McGowan lost a two-and-a-half year battle with breast cancer. Faced with the reality of now being a single father as well as being a touring musician, Don and his two younger children embarked on a year of travel together that served as vital therapy for all of them. Don's two daughters, then aged seven and nine, visited a dozen countries together in the course of Don's touring schedule, as well as some travel simply for pleasure. They all managed to emerge from their year on the road together with renewed hope for the future.
Preferring to write original music and develop a personal style, Don's self-taught journey on the instrument has encouraged him to follow his musical intuition. The result is an unclassifiable musical style that borrows from jazz, folk, rock and classical music. When asked, Don usually pigeonholes his music as "Heavy Wood"!
Don currently records with US-based independent label Candyrat Records (opens in new window)". His new recording, Any Colour, featuring his long awaited vocals, is slated for release in April 2009. Don is married to profoundly talented Prince Edward Island singer and guitarist Brooke Miller.
Discography
- Any Colour (vocal release 2009)
- Live in Toronto (with Michael Manring & special guest Andy McKee, DVD release 2008)
- The Thing that Came from Somewhere (with Andy McKee 2008)
- Live in your Head (2006)
- Live (DVD release 2005)
- Music for Vacuuming (2005)
- Robot Monster (2003)
- Huron Street (2001)
- Passion Session (1999)
- Loaded. Leather. Moonroof. (1997)
- Wintertide (1996)
- This Dragon Won't Sleep (1995)
- Three Hands (1992)
- Don Ross (1990)
- Bearing Straight (1989)
Performance Highlights
One of today's true innovators of guitar composition and technique, Don Ross has emerged as one of the most respected musicians in Canada and one of the top guitarists in the world. In September 1996, he managed to do what no other player has done: win the prestigious U.S. National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship for the second time (he first won in 1988). The competition, held yearly in Winfield, Kansas, cannot be won only with immaculate technique, but the player's music must also display a high degree of emotion and intensity — hallmarks of Don's style.
Don Ross web site
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