And another one bites the dust. As there are so many great musicians on the list, many with encyclopedic knowledge of guitarists, I'm sure people will have heard of Isaac Guillory, who died a couple of days ago. I only saw him play once, and wasn't familiar with the bands he'd played with, the wonderfully named Pacific Eardrum being the main one. My God was he good, though. One of the most fluent acoustic guitarists I ever saw, with an ability to play a bass riff, lead lines and little counter melodies, all at the same time and occasionally at breakneck speed. Despite his great virtuosity, he never seemed showy, coming across as a man of heart, humour and humility, an impression borne out by the Live album, which I listened to earlier this evening, for the first time in years. It confirms that he was also a pretty good singer and songwriter, with the first four songs on the album being especially fine, three originals (one an instrumental) and Hoagy Carmichael's Baltimore Oriole. Not much more I can say, except if you see the Live album in a second-hand shop, don't hesitate. Azeem in London
