Alex de Grassi

Alex de Grassi is an American Grammy Award-nominated fingerstyle guitarist.

Early life and influences

Though born in Yokosuka, Japan, de Grassi grew up in San Francisco, California, where his grandfather played violin for the San Francisco Symphony and his father was a classical pianist. At age thirteen he learned to play the trumpet but soon taught himself the guitar, the instrument for which he is now famous. De Grassi has since learned jazz piano with Mark Levine and also studied music under W. A. Mathieu and Bill Thrasher.

Recording career

After earning a degree in Economic Geography from the University of California, Berkeley, de Grassi performed as a street musician in London before learning the carpentry trade from his cousin Will Ackerman who later founded the innovative instrumental record label Windham Hill. De Grassi's first album, Turning: Turning Back, was released by Windham Hill Records in 1978. De Grassi also recorded under RCA/Novus, EarthBeat!, and 33rd Street recordings. In addition, De Grassi started his own label, Tropo Records, which he now records under. He performs solo concerts worldwide, holds various guitar workshops and master classes throughout the year, and performs with the DeMania Trio, alongside bassist Michael Manring and percussionist Christopher Garcia. Fellow guitar players consider de Grassi to be among the most virtuosic living guitarists. Tom Wheeler wrote in Guitar Player magazine that his technique is "the kind that shoves fellow pickers to the cliff of decision: should I practice like a madman or chuck it altogether?"

Guitars

Alex uses various guitars. Currently his primary touring/recording guitars are a custom Lowden F35c maple with a European spruce top and a custom Traugott R model Brazilian Rosewood with German Spruce top. Other favorites are a custom Carlson sympitar (twelve sympathetic strings) maple with spruce top and a custom McCollum baritone (28" scale) paduk with Italian spruce top.[1]

Discography

Turning: Turning Back; Windham Hill, 1978
Slow Circle; Windham Hill, 1979
Clockwork; Windham Hill, 1981
Southern Exposure; Windham Hill, 1984
Altiplano; RCA/Novus, 1987
Deep at Night; Windham Hill, 1991
A Windham Hill Retrospective; Windham Hill, 1992
The World's Getting Loud; Windham Hill, 1993
Beyond the Night Sky: Lullabies for Guitar; EarthBeat!, 1996
Alex de Grassi's Interpretation of Simon & Garfunkel; NorthSound, 1997
Alex de Grassi's Interpretation of James Taylor; NorthSound, 1998
The Water Garden; Tropo Records, 1998
Bolivian Blues Bar; Narada, 1999
Tatamonk (with Quique Cruz); Tropo Records, 2000
Shortwave Postcard (with g.e. stinson); Auditorium, 2001
Now & Then: Folk Songs for the 21st Century; 33rd Street, 2003
Pure Alex de Grassi; Windham Hill, 2006

External links

• The Alex De Grassi Official Web Site.

• Alex de Grassi discography at MusicBrainz
• http://www.liraproductions.com/dmg/index.htm - the official DEMANIA site

Sources

• Kohanov, Linda ``Biography: Alex de Grassi,´´ Allmusic
• ``About,´´ Official Alex De Grassi Website [2]