There are a lot of incredible musicians, so many that picking the best would seem a fool's errand. Of the many so far mentioned, I do see two missing names: first, Les Paul (and Mary Ford). Not only did he essentially invent the modern electric guitar, together they mastered the playing of of it and invented a lot of the recording techniques in common use today. Second, is classical guitarist Paul Galbraith. His accomplishments simply beggar the mind. The common belief was that Bachs Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin were simply unplayable on the guitar. Undeterred, he developed and built a unique 8-string guitar with a secondary sound chamber that sits under the guitarist's chair, connected by a steel rod to the main guitar (a guitar subwoofer?) Next, he taught himself to play his invention. Then he transcribed the Bach pieces for that instrument, and learned to play them at a master level. Finally, he recorded the results and released the album to some shocked listeners. For his efforts he was awarded a Grammy in 1995 for Best SInstrumentalist Solo Performance. Every time I feel the need for a dose of humility I play this album and reflect on the genius, skill, and sheer talent required for each of his steps along the way. Conception, creation, interpretation and execution, each at a master level.
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