Peter Walker (guitar)

"Peter Walker was actually a bigger influence on my acoustic playing than John Fahey or Robbie Basho."
- Ben Chasny, Six Organs of Admittance

MAVERICK GUITARIST PETER WALKER TO RELEASE ECHO OF MY SOUL ON MAY 13TH - HIS FIRST ALBUM IN 40 YEARS.

Peter Walker came up in the Cambridge MA and Greenwich Village folk scenes of the Sixties. He recorded two albums for the Vanguard label in the late Sixties in a style best described as American folk-raga. He studied with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, and was Dr. Timothy Leary's musical director, organizing music for the LSD advocate's "celebrations." A Raga for Peter Walker was released by Tompkins Square in 2006, featuring four new tracks from Peter along with original, previously unreleased compositions by revered contemporary guitarists Steffen Basho-Junghans, James Blackshaw, Greg Davis, Shawn David McMillen, Thurston Moore, and Jack Rose.

In recent years, Walker has developed an intense interest in flamenco guitar and, through regular trips to Spain, has been accepted into flamenco's exclusive musical elite.

Peter states, "The music on this CD was reviewed and acclaimed in Andalucia by some of the "old guard" who have encouraged its release. With its roots in ancient East Indian music, "Flamenco" has influenced much of the world's music. These Spanish-inspired pieces reflect my passion for this musical rubric".

1. Cante Gitano (Gypsy Song)
2. Flor de Noche (Night Flower)
3. Caminar en la Tarde (Afternoon Walk)
4. Manitas Juntos (Hands Together)
5. Sacromonte (Sacred Mountain)
6. Cueva de Pepe (Pepe's Cave)
7. Eco de mi Alma (Echo of My Soul)
8. Poema de Amar (Love Poem)
9. Jaleador (Spirit Caller)
10. Soleo (Alone)
11. Cante en Medio (Song in A Major)
12. Por Rosa (Song in E Major)
13. Grandita (Song From Granada)
14. Bailarcito (Little Dance)

Guitarist Peter Walker came up in the Cambridge MA and Greenwich Village folk scenes of the Sixties. He recorded two albums for the Vanguard label in the late Sixties in a style best described as American folk-raga. He studied with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, and was Dr. Timothy Leary's musical director, organizing music for the LSD advocate?s ?celebrations.? Peter Walker?s 1967 debut album, Rainy Day Raga, features one of the first studio appearances by jazz flautist Jeremy Steig, as well as guitarist Bruce Langhorne, who recorded with Bob Dylan and many others. Rainy Day Raga is a gentle and beautiful fusion of Eastern and Western musical traditions, and one of the earliest examples of a style explored by Sandy Bull several years earlier. A second album, Second Poem to Karmela or, Gypsies Are Important (1969) found Walker going even deeper into Indian instrumentation, playing sarod and sitar. During this time, Peter played or was associated with such musicians as Lowell George, Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, and Joan Baez, among many others.

Walker settled in upstate New York in the early Seventies. In more recent years, he has developed an intense interest in flamenco guitar and, through regular trips to Spain, been accepted into the flamenco's exclusive musical elite.