Mild Leo Kottke

Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including partial loss of hearing and a nearly career-ending bout with tendon damage in his right hand, to emerge as a widely recognized master of his instrument…

John Fahey, Peter Lang, Leo Kottke - John Fahey, Peter Lang, Leo Kottke (1974) {Takoma ‎TAKCD-6502-2 rel 1996}
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© 1974, 1996 Takoma ‎Records / Fantasy | TAKCD-6502-2
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

In the 1950s the young John Fahey discovered the funky, unpretentious, down-home, spontaneous guitar-oriented 78s recorded in the late 1920s and early 1930s by rural Southern black and poor white folks. He changed the music to suit his own image of what art should be and created the concept of the solo steel-string guitarist/composer. Leo Kottke built on Fahey's vision, made it more accessible, and proved how large the market could be. In 1974 these two quitar giants, joined by Peter Lang, who proves on these cuts to be a guitarist of equal ability, put out this excellent and influential LP.

Leo Kottke - Peculiaroso (1994) {Private Music–BMG 01005-82111-2}
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© 1994 Private Music / BMG | 01005-82111-2
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

In terms of musical mastery, few instruments deserve more attention and respect than the twelve-string guitar, and few masters of that instrument deserve that same attention and respect more than Leo Kottke. From his lyrics ("Room at the Top of the Stairs") to his playing ("Wonderland by Night"), this 1994 Private Music release, well produced by Rickie Lee Jones, is at turns humorous, haunting, and highly enjoyable.

Leo Kottke - Leo Kottke (1977) {Chrysalis–BGO Records BGOCD257 rel 1994}
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© 1977, 1994 Chrysalis / BGO Records | BGOCD257
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

I'd call this Leo's "Romantic Period," because he really shows the creative potential of the 12-string: much like he's painting colors and tones with the notes he's plucking in order to create a landscape-of-sound theme for each song. It's an enigmatic collection–no two songs quite repeat, and thankfully, nothing spoiling this by rehashing previously released material. The energy is very high in his agility; minor chord combinations that enhance effortlessly rather than challenge the ear, and a lush assistance by others on keyboards, woodwinds, and even strings.

Leo Kottke - Mudlark (1971) {One Way Records S21-18460 rel 1995}
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© 1971, 1995 Capitol Records / One Way Records / GEMA SP | S21-18460
Contemporary Folk / Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / New Acoustic

Mudlark rates highly on many a Kottke fan's favorite list. This was Kottke's Capitol Records debut, and his solo instrumental sound is augmented with the addition of studio sidemen (bass, drums, piano). His playing is superb (no surprise there) and full of youthful vigor – a fusion of high-speed picking, brash slide work, funky folk, acoustic rock, and melodicism. Most importantly, Mudlark marked the debut of Kottke as a singer, an indication that Capitol was trying to shoehorn him into the singer/songwriter genre. Kottke himself has made disparaging remarks about his own vocals, but they add personality to his virtuosic guitar chops.

Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon - Noon (2020) {ATO Records ATDD335}
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© 2020 ATO Records | ATDD335
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

The best review of Noon — the highly anticipated third album from guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke and bass wizard Mike Gordon, their first in 15 years — might be simply to advise you to pick up the album, hit play, and sit back and let these exceptional and inventive musicians carry you along over the twists and turns of their astonishing musical journey. Every song on Noon weaves a multi-layered texture of sound, with Kottke’s mesmerizing finger-picking wrapping around, over, and under Gordon’s darting and hypnotic bass lines. Drummer Jon Fishman, Gordon’s Phish bandmate, joins the duo on five songs, adding yet another rhythmic dimension to the music.

Leo Kottke - Guitar Music (1981) {Chrysalis F2 21328 rel 1985}
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© 1981, 1985 Chrysalis Records | F2 21328 / DIDX 1444
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

Guitar Music is an album by American guitarist Leo Kottke, released in 1981. The album is all solo guitar played on a Gibson J-45 and a Lundberg-Martin 12-string. A classic 1981 release, "Guitar Music" is a self-explanatorily-titled instrumental album by one of the most wide-ranging guitarists of his era.