Adrian Legg (born 16 May 1948) is an English guitar player who has been called "impossible to categorize".[2] He plays custom guitars that are a hybrid of electric and acoustic, and his fingerstyle picking technique has been acknowledged by the readers of Guitar Player who voted Legg the "best acoustic fingerstyle" player four years in a row (1993–1996).[3]
Adrian Legg
Adrian Legg at the Thirsty Ear Tavern, 20 December 2008
From his early start as a bench technician customising electric guitars, Legg moved into guitar instruction, publishing books and videos on guitar technique. In 1996 and 1997, Legg shared the stage with acclaimed guitar experts Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai as part of the G3 tour. Vai called Legg "Uncle Adrian"[4] and Satriani said of Legg's musicianship, "He's simply the best acoustic guitar player I've ever heard. I don't know anyone else who can create such a cascade of beautiful notes... Adrian plays like he's got hammers for fingers."[5]
Legg at the Hare and Hounds pub in North London, 27 March 1987
Legg was born in Hackney, London, England.[1] He studied the oboe as a child but in teenage years his interest shifted to the guitar.
In the early 1970s, Legg won both the composition and performance sections of a competition run by the now defunct Guitar magazine, published by Musical New Services of Denmark Street, which led to his being asked to contribute articles to the magazine. From then on, his technical flair produced a stream of articles in UK music press in the 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in the 1981 Kaye and Ward book "Customising Your Electric Guitar." He spent from 1979 to 1981 as a technician at Rose Morris Ltd., who then handled Marshall amplification, Ovation Guitar and Takamine Guitars, and designed original and well-reviewed passive circuits for the then relaunched Vox guitars. In 1990, he was involved in the prototyping and launch of the highly successful Trace Acoustic amplifiers, and continues to maintain technical relationships with the musical instrument industry.
From a 1983 promotional flyer (Technopickers) from Spindrift Records; having demonstrated Ovation guitar for a number of years and with sessions with Tom Robinson, a tour with Richard Thompson and appearing on Radio One's in Concert programme all have helped established Adrian.
Going global
Legg's first US release, Guitars and Other Cathedrals in 1990, pleased guitar fans. Over the years, he's played at the Montreux Jazz Festival and toured with Richard Thompson, David Lindley, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and as part of the G3 Tour featuring Satriani, Johnson and Favored Nations founder Steve Vai.[6] For G3, Legg served as an opening act in 1996 and a headlining act in 1997. An infrequent singer, Legg helped with vocal duties on the collaborative G3 performance of Red House by Jimi Hendrix.
He has also shared the wealth of his talent and experience with teaching DVDs, videos and books. In recent years, he has also been a commentator-at-large for National Public Radio's "All Things Considered", and even more recently, regular listeners have heard his guitar versions of the show's theme music.[6]
Style
Legg performing at the Auditorio Maestro Padilla in Almería, Spain, 18 July 2006
Legg plays fingerstyle guitar, mixing an alternating-bass style with harmonics, banjo-peg retuning and single or double-string bending. Often he will play a piece entirely in arpeggios similar to a classical guitar style. He makes extensive use of altered tunings and capos.
Legg has said that his true home is onstage. "Playing live is the whole point... Everyone makes a journey, an effort; we all come together – me, the audience, the people who run the venue – to share this wonderful, universal, human emotional interaction. This is where music lives."[7]
A significant part of a performance by Legg is the wryly funny storytelling patter he uses between songs, some of these stories included on Adrian Legg Live (2017). His distinctive wit is also in written evidence everywhere from his liner notes to his tablature books.
Legg included the use of modeling technology and MIDI for fingerstyle guitar on his 2004 album Inheritance, which features extensive use of guitar synthesisers and modeled guitar sounds. This stands in contrast to the more acoustic sound of Guitar Bones.
In an interview with Frets, a Guitar Player publication, Adrian listed some of the signal processors and effects that he utilizes to shape his acoustic tone. This included several notable effects boxes such as the Effectrode PC-2A compressor, a Wampler Pedals Black '65 Overdrive, and an Effeectrode Helios fuzz.[8] Adrian is also endorsed by Neunaber Audio and is currently using a Neunaber Audio Immerse Reverberator for his reverb needs.[9]
VHS, reissued on DVD (2006) as How to Become a More Creative Guitarist
2018
Adrian Legg Live! The Movie!
Self release
no number
DVD
Compilations
Full Moon (1997)
The Ultimate Guitar Survival Guide (1993)
Relativity: Here and Now... Musical Masters (1991)
References
^ abColin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. p. 1456. ISBN1-882267-02-8.
^Chapman, Richard (2005). Guitar. DK Publishing. ISBN0-7566-0945-3. Impossible to categorize as a player, Adrian Legg incorporates virtually every genre on his guitar in a virtuosic instrumental style with effects. He brought electric approaches to acoustic playing, creating a modern cross-over amalgamation in the tradition of eclectic folk playing that goes back to the 1960s.
^ for What's Up! magazine, Walla Walla Washington.
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Adrian Legg born 16 May 1948 is an English guitar player who has been called impossible to categorize 2 He plays custom guitars that are a hybrid of electric and acoustic and his fingerstyle picking technique has been acknowledged by the readers of Guitar Player who voted Legg the best acoustic fingerstyle player four years in a row 1993 1996 3 Adrian LeggAdrian Legg at the Thirsty Ear Tavern 20 December 2008Background informationBorn 1948 05 16 16 May 1948 age 74 Hackney London England 1 GenresAmbient jazzOccupation s Musician songwriter Guitar instructor luthierInstrument s GuitarYears active1978 presentLabelsFavored Nations Acoustic Red House Relativity Making Waves SpindriftWebsiteadrianlegg wbr com From his early start as a bench technician customising electric guitars Legg moved into guitar instruction publishing books and videos on guitar technique In 1996 and 1997 Legg shared the stage with acclaimed guitar experts Joe Satriani Eric Johnson and Steve Vai as part of the G3 tour Vai called Legg Uncle Adrian 4 and Satriani said of Legg s musicianship He s simply the best acoustic guitar player I ve ever heard I don t know anyone else who can create such a cascade of beautiful notes Adrian plays like he s got hammers for fingers 5 Contents 1 Early career 2 Going global 3 Style 4 Discography 4 1 Albums 4 2 Videos 4 3 Compilations 5 References 6 External linksEarly career Edit Legg at the Hare and Hounds pub in North London 27 March 1987 Legg was born in Hackney London England 1 He studied the oboe as a child but in teenage years his interest shifted to the guitar In the early 1970s Legg won both the composition and performance sections of a competition run by the now defunct Guitar magazine published by Musical New Services of Denmark Street which led to his being asked to contribute articles to the magazine From then on his technical flair produced a stream of articles in UK music press in the 1970s and early 1980s culminating in the 1981 Kaye and Ward book Customising Your Electric Guitar He spent from 1979 to 1981 as a technician at Rose Morris Ltd who then handled Marshall amplification Ovation Guitar and Takamine Guitars and designed original and well reviewed passive circuits for the then relaunched Vox guitars In 1990 he was involved in the prototyping and launch of the highly successful Trace Acoustic amplifiers and continues to maintain technical relationships with the musical instrument industry From a 1983 promotional flyer Technopickers from Spindrift Records having demonstrated Ovation guitar for a number of years and with sessions with Tom Robinson a tour with Richard Thompson and appearing on Radio One s in Concert programme all have helped established Adrian Going global EditLegg s first US release Guitars and Other Cathedrals in 1990 pleased guitar fans Over the years he s played at the Montreux Jazz Festival and toured with Richard Thompson David Lindley Joe Satriani Eric Johnson and as part of the G3 Tour featuring Satriani Johnson and Favored Nations founder Steve Vai 6 For G3 Legg served as an opening act in 1996 and a headlining act in 1997 An infrequent singer Legg helped with vocal duties on the collaborative G3 performance of Red House by Jimi Hendrix He has also shared the wealth of his talent and experience with teaching DVDs videos and books In recent years he has also been a commentator at large for National Public Radio s All Things Considered and even more recently regular listeners have heard his guitar versions of the show s theme music 6 Style Edit Legg performing at the Auditorio Maestro Padilla in Almeria Spain 18 July 2006 Legg plays fingerstyle guitar mixing an alternating bass style with harmonics banjo peg retuning and single or double string bending Often he will play a piece entirely in arpeggios similar to a classical guitar style He makes extensive use of altered tunings and capos Legg has said that his true home is onstage Playing live is the whole point Everyone makes a journey an effort we all come together me the audience the people who run the venue to share this wonderful universal human emotional interaction This is where music lives 7 A significant part of a performance by Legg is the wryly funny storytelling patter he uses between songs some of these stories included on Adrian Legg Live 2017 His distinctive wit is also in written evidence everywhere from his liner notes to his tablature books Legg included the use of modeling technology and MIDI for fingerstyle guitar on his 2004 album Inheritance which features extensive use of guitar synthesisers and modeled guitar sounds This stands in contrast to the more acoustic sound of Guitar Bones In an interview with Frets a Guitar Player publication Adrian listed some of the signal processors and effects that he utilizes to shape his acoustic tone This included several notable effects boxes such as the Effectrode PC 2A compressor a Wampler Pedals Black 65 Overdrive and an Effeectrode Helios fuzz 8 Adrian is also endorsed by Neunaber Audio and is currently using a Neunaber Audio Immerse Reverberator for his reverb needs 9 Discography Edit Legg in May 2004 at Legion Arts in Cedar Rapids Iowa Albums Edit Year Title Label Number Notes1976 The All Round Gigster Guitarist Magazine UK G104 LP with companion book1977 Requiem for a Hick Westwood UK WRS 125 LP1983 Technopicker Spindrift UK Spin 201 LP1985 Fretmelt Spindrift UK Spin 115 LP1986 Lost For Words Making Waves UK Spin 127 LP1990 Guitars amp Other Cathedrals Relativity RR 10451992 Guitar for Mortals Relativity RR 10781993 Wine Women amp Waltz Relativity RR 90241993 Mrs Crowe s Blue Waltz Relativity RR 90851994 High Strung Tall Tales Relativity RR 12241997 Waiting for a Dancer Red House RHR 991999 Fingers and Thumbs Red House RHR 1332001 A Postcard From London Favored Nations Acoustic no number 2 CD ROM set with photo essays and musical score2003 Guitar Bones Favored Nations Acoustic FNA 50602004 Inheritance Favored Nations Acoustic FNA 51002011 Slow Guitar Self Release AL12012 The Very Best of Adrian Legg Varese Sarabande VSD 71662014 Dead Bankers Self Release AL22017 Live Self Release AL3 10 Videos Edit Year Title Label Number Notes1985 Beyond Acoustic Guitar Hot Licks 151 VHS1992 Fingerpicking and Open Tunings Hot Licks 165 VHS reissued on DVD 2006 1999 How to Cheat at Guitar Homespun Tapes no number VHS reissued on DVD 2006 as How to Become a More Creative Guitarist2018 Adrian Legg Live The Movie Self release no number DVDCompilations Edit Full Moon 1997 The Ultimate Guitar Survival Guide 1993 Relativity Here and Now Musical Masters 1991 References Edit a b Colin Larkin ed 1992 The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music Vol 2 p 1456 ISBN 1 882267 02 8 Chapman Richard 2005 Guitar DK Publishing ISBN 0 7566 0945 3 Impossible to categorize as a player Adrian Legg incorporates virtually every genre on his guitar in a virtuosic instrumental style with effects He brought electric approaches to acoustic playing creating a modern cross over amalgamation in the tradition of eclectic folk playing that goes back to the 1960s Interview with Chris Fetters for What s Up magazine Walla Walla Washington Adrian Legg Archives Sleeve Notes Guitar Bones Adrian Legg Web archive org Retrieved 3 March 2009 Guitar magazine October 1997 Joe Satriani Web archive org Retrieved 3 March 2009 a b Adrian Legg Press Page Web archive org Retrieved 3 March 2009 All About Jazz News Favored Nations Acoustic Delivers Adrian Legg s Inheritance August 24 2004 Web archive org Retrieved 3 March 2009 Frets February 2015 Nxtbook com Retrieved 15 September 2016 Adrian Legg Neunaber net Retrieved 15 September 2016 NME Artists Adrian Legg Nme com Retrieved 3 March 2009 External links EditAdrian Legg Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Adrian Legg amp oldid 1104796095, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
