Features:Phil Heywood is a fingerstyle guitarist with a bluesy swing and a bucketful of whatever it is that helps a performer turn an instrumental piece into an arresting lyrical narrative. His lucid playing encompasses the down-home rhythmic groove of a Mississippi John Hurt or Leadbelly, and the sheer fluidity and flair of Leo Kottke.
The internationally renowned Kottke, in fact, once handpicked Heywood to tour and perform duets with him. A soul-grabbing instrumentalist, Phil draws listeners in with his voice as well, singing in a warm, plainspoken style that blends smoothly with his rock-solid guitar work.
Heywood has been based in Minneapolis-St. Paul since the mid-eighties, performing locally and regionally while also establishing himself in the greater guitar and acoustic music world. He is the 1986 National Fingerpicking Champion, and the winner of the 1987 American Fingerstyle Guitar Festival Competition, an event judged by some of the top players in this field. In addition to his performances with Leo Kottke, Phil has played with Chet Atkins on NPR's A Prairie Home Companion, performed with fellow acoustic guitar luminaries Peter Lang, Pat Donohue, and Tim Sparks, and opened shows for such artists as Norman Blake, Greg Brown, John Renbourn, Chris Smither, and Robin and Linda Williams. He has recorded four CDs: Some Summer Day (1990), Local Joe (1996), Circle Tour (2000), and Banks of the River (2003). What one inspired critic wrote of Local Joe applies equally to each of Phil's CDs: "Acoustic guitar fans should consider this recording a must have....Heywood gives us all something to enjoy for a long time." (Music Reviews Quarterly)
"Phil Heywood is among a small elite of fingerstyle guitarists who follow in the tracks of the country blues players and steel-string stylists John Fahey and Leo Kottke. Not bound to mere imitation, nor to New-Age sentimentality, Heywood has a unique voicing in his playing. At once his compositions ring with evocations of the Delta blues, while his own musicality and sense for a tune finely rendered come through loud and clear. Here there are tunes by Bahamian Joseph Spence, Leadbelly, and Mississippi John Hurt, but Heywood's own tunes are not in the least out of place. His slide tune, Backwater, is utterly captivating, and all the more so live. Local Joe is one of three (as of spring 2001, with the release of Circle Tour) solo efforts by Heywood. Anyone who has heard Heywood play in person and who has some comprehension of fingerstyle and the sound of steel knows the amazing technical skill that combines with an equally superb compositional ear for expression. Local Joe is a treat that, unlike chocolate, I never sicken of. Be prepared for some fantastic guitar work."
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