Issac Guillory & John Renbourn
Live at Cambridge Folk Festival
July 1994
FM Cass master> CD Wave Editor> FLAC (level 8, via Trader's Little helper)
NOTE: There is a little interference in the background of this one. I found attempting to remove it did too much damage (actually "total decimation" is a better term) to the top end, so you'll have to suffer a little light background noise.
1. Buckets Of Rain
2. A Child Is Born
3. Four way Street
4. 16 Tons
5. Unidentified Instrumental*
* If anyone can identify this track, please let me know. I tried, I really did. I just spent over an hour playing through John Renbourn sound clips online (couldn't find any for Isaac Guillory, & nothing of them playing together).
If I'm any good at recognising voices, the intro at the beginning & at the start of track 5 is by Ralph McTell. I had to leave them on, as they merge into the start of the music in each case.
ISAAC GUILLORY (February 27, 1947 - December 31, 2000) was a Cuban-born-American guitarist. He later lived in the United States and the United Kingdom. His daughter is British actress and model Sienna Guillory.
Born on the US Navy Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Guillory played piano and guitar as a child and electric guitar as a high school student in Florida. He also studied music at Roosevelt University in Chicago 1965-69. While there, he recorded two albums with the Cryan' Shames as bass player.
Leaving University in the U.S.A. he acquired a Martin D-35 and lived throughout Europe, working as an acoustic solo performer. Guillory came to earn the reputation of one of the best guitarists ever. Many guitarists today emulate techniques Guillory evolved in the early 70's while living in the south of Spain.
He always concentrated on live solo performances (which put him up-close with more intimate small audiences) and sharing his understanding of music; touring, creating his own online guitar school. He published five more CD's on his own independent label, Personal Records. As a performer he was dedicated to sharing his gift with both audience and fellow musicians, and as a teacher he never hesitated to share in a manner that others could understand.
He performed frequently as a guest artists for recordings and films with, among many others, Al Stewart, Donovan, Mick Jagger, Buggles, Barbara Dickson and Nick Heyward. Guillory released "Isaac Guillory", a self-titled album in 1974. For a while he delved into jazz fusion and recorded with Pacific Eardrum. Isaac lectured at the Guildhall School Of Music in London. His music can be heard on 'A' Net Station, and his website continues to be available.
Isaac Guillory passed away in 2000. His legacy is immeasurable; the music that he could cause to come forth from a guitar with such apparent grace, pleasure and ease - The man who could visualize an unlimited warmth and love for life and take us to that very special place...
Guitarist JOHN RENBOURN is one of the fathers of contemporary British folk music and is one of the finest fingerstyle players in the world. A founder of the seminal group Pentangle, Renbourn's music fuses British and Celtic folk with blues, jazz, British early music, classic guitar and Eastern styles.
Born and raised in Torquay, England, Renbourn began playing guitar as a teen. At first he was into skiffle, a style that became popular as the a folk music revival was beginning. An instructional book, How to Play Guitar by Rory McKuen, introduced Renbourn to the music of many American folk artists and he began to research them. In 1964, he began studying classical guitar at the George Abbot School in Guildford. Two years later he was playing folk music in Soho where he met many other musicians, including Paul Simon, Davey Graham and most importantly, Bert Jansch, a guitar player whom Renbourn greatly admired. Renbourn and Jansch were roommates for a while; during impromptu sessions they noticed how much in synch they were and how easy it was to play together. Both men had fledgling recording careers at the time. Renbourn performed on Jansch's second album and afterward they teamed up formally to record Bert and John.
In 1967 the two founded Pentangle and remained together through 1978. Renbourn, as with the other group members, continued to release such solo albums as The Hermit and The Black Balloon. He formed the John Renbourn Group in the '80s and began adding an East Indian percussion and jazz woodwinds to his music. Around the mid-'80s, he teamed up with guitarist Stefan Grossman and embarked upon a series of world tours. The two also recorded a few albums before Renbourn went on to found the ensemble Ship of Fools and play music with a stronger Celtic influence. He continues to tour alone and with other guitarists including Grossman, Larry Coryell and Isaac Guillory. He also occasionally reunites with Jansch and sometimes tours with Scottish storyteller Robin Williamson.
This is the sixteenth of several short folk sessions I intend to share from my cassette archives, which I recorded from BBC Radio 2 Folk programmes.