Pierre Bensusan: Finger Style Madenss
Pierre Bensusan is a self-taught French-Algerian guitar virtuoso. He began his studies in classical piano under Madame Rosso in 1962; and won the Leopold Bellan Piano award 4 years later. The next year he began teaching himself the guitar. During this period, Pierre had a strong affinity for French and American Folk music. Taking inspiration from artists like Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Leforestier, and Neil Young, he began to create his own style. In 1973, Pierre quit school and devoted all of his time to music.
It turns out that it worked for him. With 12 albums, 3 instructional videos, 5 music books, and an impressive number of guitar awards Pierre continues to conquer the world of finger style guitar. His style is based upon the DADGAD tuning. Bensusan relearned the fret-board to master this tuning and applied his self learned classical techniques to a range of styles: folk, jazz, rock, Celtic, and even African.
Pierre has been lumped into the same category as Michael hedges, Don Ross, Leo Kottke and other finger-style greats but his music differs significantly. Bensusan adds unique African inspired vocals over his complex melodies along with rhythmic vocal scats to create a truly unique and unheard sound. Pierre’s ability to successfully mélange traditional styles with African inspired rhythms and melodies is a testament to his range as a composer. There is no one who plays this kind of music, period.
The real treat, however, is Pierre Live. Often comically, in between songs Pierre gives the history of how his compositions came to life and discuses stories about being a musician on the road. Every show is different; so, he does not sound like a broken record. With several international tours under his belt Pierre continues to intrigue audiences. Pierre’s music resonates on a visceral level, deeply felt and emotionally experienced as suggested by one of my favorite CD’s “Intuite”. But, I think that Leo Kottke sums it up best,--"Pierre's music gives me the shakes. No other guitarist shares his strange gifts of sophistication, accessibility, and downright joy. Even at its most complex, Pierre's music only needs ears to be enjoyed." –
It turns out that it worked for him. With 12 albums, 3 instructional videos, 5 music books, and an impressive number of guitar awards Pierre continues to conquer the world of finger style guitar. His style is based upon the DADGAD tuning. Bensusan relearned the fret-board to master this tuning and applied his self learned classical techniques to a range of styles: folk, jazz, rock, Celtic, and even African.
Pierre has been lumped into the same category as Michael hedges, Don Ross, Leo Kottke and other finger-style greats but his music differs significantly. Bensusan adds unique African inspired vocals over his complex melodies along with rhythmic vocal scats to create a truly unique and unheard sound. Pierre’s ability to successfully mélange traditional styles with African inspired rhythms and melodies is a testament to his range as a composer. There is no one who plays this kind of music, period.
The real treat, however, is Pierre Live. Often comically, in between songs Pierre gives the history of how his compositions came to life and discuses stories about being a musician on the road. Every show is different; so, he does not sound like a broken record. With several international tours under his belt Pierre continues to intrigue audiences. Pierre’s music resonates on a visceral level, deeply felt and emotionally experienced as suggested by one of my favorite CD’s “Intuite”. But, I think that Leo Kottke sums it up best,--"Pierre's music gives me the shakes. No other guitarist shares his strange gifts of sophistication, accessibility, and downright joy. Even at its most complex, Pierre's music only needs ears to be enjoyed." –
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