Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present French-Algerian acoustic guitarist, singer and composer Pierre Bensusan at Next Stage on Friday, April 18 at 7:30 pm. If World Music is music that pays tribute to the spirit of a collection of human beings through distinct rhythms, traditional instruments and harmonic colors, Pierre Bensusan can be recognized as one of the most eloquent and diverse world musicians of our time.
Born in Oran, French-Algeria, in 1957, when France was decolonizing its Empire, Pierre Bensusan’s family moved to Paris when he was 4. He began formal studies on piano at the age of 7 and at 11 taught himself guitar. Influenced in those early days by the folk revival blooming in Britain, France and North America, Bensusan began first to explore his own diverse musical heritage and then moved to the horizons beyond. At 17, he signed his first recording contract, and one year later his first album “Pres de Paris” won the Grand Prix du Disque upon his debut at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland.
Pierre Bensusan was voted “Best World Music Guitar Player in 2008” by Guitar Player Magazine Readers Choice. His name became synonymous with contemporary acoustic guitar genius, long before the terms New Age, New Acoustic Music or World Music were invented. He has the ability to make a single guitar sound like an entire band as he brings the audience on a mesmerizing musical journey. And yet, the “Mozart of Guitar” is more than what any musician or music lover expects from a guitarist. He is a composer as well as a bilingual and a brave improvisational vocalist, melding whistles and resonant low notes with something like his own scat technique.
There is a sense of something both playful and serious in his work, an unparalleled sense of freedom in his compositions and his improvisations. His playing defies classification – crossing world, classical, jazz, traditional, folk and more. None can be isolated as simply Brazilian, Arabic or French; rather, they represent our world in its current state, a world sharing itself, fusing cultures together in ways we have never experienced.
Pierre Bensusan celebrates forty years of worldwide touring with the 2013 release of “Encore,” a 3-CD journey of live performances spanning his entire career and showcasing his risk-taking, in-the-moment style. It is nominated for the 13th Annual Independent Music Awards “Best Live Performance Album.”
“One of the most unique and brilliant acoustic guitar veterans in the world music scene today” – L.A. Times
Next Stage is located in the former United Church at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney, VT. Tickets for this concert are $20 Advance / $22 At the Door. For information, call 802-387-0102. Advance tickets are available at www.nextstagearts.org, Turn It Up in Brattleboro and Offerings Jewelry in Putney. JD McCliment’s Pub will provide a beer and wine cash bar at the concert. For more information, visit www.pierrebensusan.com, www.www.nextstagearts.org and www.twilightmusic.org.
