Born in 1961 in Wichita, Kansas, Kastning's father was a musician, and Kevin began on trumpet at age 7. By age 11 he had his first guitar.[2] He attended Wichita East High School[3] during which time he was in the school orchestra and jazz ensemble as well as in several bands. Kastning attended Wichita State University between 1980 and 1984, graduating with a Bachelor of Music. While there he studied composition under the tutelage of Pulitzer Prize winning composer, Walter Mays. In 1985, Kastning moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he pursued graduate studies at Berklee College of Music for 2 years.[4] At Berklee, Kastning studied with Walter Beasley and John la Porta while being privately tutored by guitar legend Pat Metheny. Between the years of 1985 and 1990 he played in numerous jazz chamber groups, playing at clubs throughout the greater Boston and Hartford area are as well as in his own jazz ensemble, the Kevin Kastning Unit, which released a self-titled album in 1988. The Kevin Kastning Unit included Carl Clements on tenor and soprano saxophone with which Kastning has maintained a working relationship.
Since that time, Kastning has made numerous notable collaborative contemporary classical guitar recordings, which are largely improvised. Kastning plays a number of guitar family instruments of his own imagining on his albums including a 36-string Double Contraguitar, a 30-string Contra-Soprano guitar, 6-string bass-baritone guitar, a 12-string extended baritone guitar, a 12-string alto guitar, and 14-string, 16-string, and 17-string Contraguitars. His music consistently receives strong reviews in the experimental acoustic music community and other modern abstract traditions. Irish painter, Ken Browne's March 2011 exhibition 'Odyssey II'[5] at the Origin Art Gallery[6] (Dublin) featured abstract paintings based on Kastning's music.
Kastning has invented a number of guitar family instruments which extend the traditional range of the guitar into new territory.
Kastning is an artist endorser for Santa Cruz Guitar Company, Daniel Roberts Stringworks, Anvil Cases, Emerald Guitars,[7] Godin Guitars, Enhanced Audio, Bricasti Design,[8] Kelsone, Peluso, John Pearse Strings,[9] Cervantes Classical Guitars,[10] Microtech Gefell Microphones, G7 Performance Capos, ToneRite, Hipshot, and K&K Sound.[11]
Recording artist
In 1990 Kastning was invited by colleague and fellow guitarist to form the KastningSiegfried Duet Project,[12] and over the next several years they wrote and recorded 5 albums of acoustic, experimental classical guitar compositions which were all released on the label, Greydisc. The KastningSiefried Duet Project is ongoing although Kastning has moved away from performing and recording composed music and favors instead improvisation[13] in the recording studio.
In 2006 Kastning began a long term collaboration with Hungarian guitarist, Sandor Szabo.[14] Together they have released multiple albums, on the Greydisc label, each of which is completely improvised, or composed in real time within the studio. Each album was recorded in a single day and each track represents a one time recording without overdubs or multiple takes.[15] Szabo and Kastning toured Hungary[16] in 2009[17] with guitarist, Dominic Miller,[18] who is well known for playing with Sting (musician).
In 2009, Kastning met British electric guitarist Mark Wingfield and proceeded the following year to record an ambient, electro-acoustic album of improvised guitar duets with Wingfield which was released on Greydisc Records.[19] In 2012 Kastning and Wingfield released a second album of wholly improvised ambient duets entitled "An Illustrated Silenece".[20]
During the 2009 Szabo/Kastning European tour, Kastning recorded a trio album, entitled "Triptych", with Szabo and percussionist, Balazs Major on location in Nograd. Triptych was released on Greydisc Records in December 2011.[21] The album has drawn comparisons to the recordings of Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie.[22]
Kastning toured Europe a second time in March 2012 with Szabo and Major in support of Triptych with a concert entitled "Kontaktus". The concert was a melding of sound poetry[23] and movement featuring two Hungarian dancers from the Hungarian National Ballet, Timea Gyorke and Judith Szamosi.[24] The tour included dates in Budapest, Debrecen and Vacz. In Vac Kastning and Szabo recorded a duo album entitled "The Book of Crossing", which was released on Greydisc Records later the same year, as well as a trio album with Major, "Becoming", which was released in March 2013.
In 2012, Kastning released a duo album with longtime musical collaborator Carl Clements entitled "Dreaming As I Knew". The album represents various improvised contemporary classical duets with combinations of Kastning's guitar family instruments and Clements multiple wind instruments.[25]
In 2012 Kastning also released a duo album with famous bassist, Michael Manring entitled "In Winter" an exploratory album of improvised compositions.[26]
Composer
In addition to performing, Kastning is a modern classical composer with over 200[27] compositions for various chamber and solo instrumentation, including ten piano sonatas, seven string quartets and numerous works for unusual instrument duets, trio, quartets and quintets. Kastning's works have been performed annually by the London Chamber Group since 2001.[28]
Inventor
Kastning has invented a number of guitar family instruments in collaboration with Dan Roberts. The two met in 1999 when Kastning commissioned a guitar from the Santa Cruz Guitar Co,[29] where Roberts was the production manager. By 2002, Kastning was an artist endorser for the Santa Cruz Guitar Co. Kastning is interested in extending the pitch range of the guitar and from this, he has developed several unique instruments with Roberts. The first instrument was the DKK 6-string extended baritone guitar, a 13 fret D baritone, voiced for a low G tuning developed in 2005 with Roberts and the Santa Cruz Guitar Co. The second was the Santa Cruz DKK-12 string extended baritone guitar, a 13 fret, D baritone voiced for a low F# tuning developed in 2005/06 . The third, the Santa Cruz KK-alto, a 12 string alto guitar in A, was developed in 2008. Kastning continued his collaboration with Roberts after Roberts left Santa Cruz Guitar Co to form his own company, Daniel Roberts Stringworks.[30] In 2007 Kastning commissioned at 14 string contraguitar[31] from Roberts which was completed in 2010. A second Contraguitar was commissioned from Roberts in 2011 to be utilized in alternate tunings.[32] In 2012 Roberts converted one of Kastning's contraguitars to a 17-string, 9-course contraguitar.[33]
In 2012 Kastning collaborated with Alistair Hay of the Irish company, Emerald Guitars, to conceive of and build a 30 string double-necked guitar. The guitar model was named "Triocha," the Kevin Kastning Signature Model, and combines an 18-string Contra guitar neck with a 12-string alto guitar neck providing an unorthodox tonal range. This instrument is known as the Kevin Kastning Signature Series 30-string Contra-Alto guitar
In 2013, Kastning again collaborated with Alistair Hay of the Irish company, Emerald Guitars, to conceive of and build the 36-string Double Contraguitar. This doubleneck instrument consists of two 18-string Contraguitars used in two different tunings. This instrument provides both an extended range and an unorthodox harmonic palette. The 36-string Double Contraguitar and the 30-string Contra-Soprano guitar have become Kastning's main instruments for both concerts and recordings. This instrument is known as the Kevin Kastning Signature Series 36-string Double Contraguitar.
In 2014, Kastning once again collaborated with Alistair Hay of the Irish company, Emerald Guitars, to conceive of and build the 15-string Extended Classical guitar. This is a classical nylon-string guitar with six double-courses, and three bass single courses. It also features a Multi-scale. This is known as the Kevin Kastning Signature Series 15-string Extended Classical guitar.
In 2017-2018, Kastning again collaborated with Alistair Hay of the Irish company, Emerald Guitars, to conceive of and build the 17-string Hybrid Extended Classical guitar. This is a double-course classical guitar, with each course consisting of one nylon string and one steel string. The low sub-A or sub-B course is the only single course. It also features a Multi-scale. This is known as the Kevin Kastning Signature Series 17-string Hybrid Extended Classical guitar.
In 2023, Kastning again collaborated with Alistair Hay of Emerald Guitars, to conceive of and build the 24-string Double Sub-Contraguitar, and the 28-string Double Contraguitar, which features four triple courses.
Awards and honors
Resonance, The Perfect Sound magazine's Top 10 Albums of 2007[34]
Parabola, NPR one of The Best Albums of the Year for 2009[35]
I Walked into the Silver Darkness, Favorite of 2011, WFMU-FM, 2011[citation needed]
An Illustrated Silence, top ten album, New York City's WFMU-FM, 2012[36]
Book of Crossings, top ten albums of 2012, Acoustic Guitar[37] It was also named one of the top 20 albums of 2012 by FAME magazine.[38]
In Winter, Best Instrumental Album of 2012 by Latewire magazine
Dark Sonatas, top ten album by WFMU-FM and Acoustic Music, 2013[39]
The classical guitar, also called Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the modern steel-string acoustic and electric guitars, both of which use metal strings. Classical guitars derive from the Spanish vihuela and gittern of the 15th and 16th century. Those instruments evolved into the 17th and 18th-century baroque guitar—and by the mid-19th century, early forms of the modern classical guitar. Today's modern classical guitar was established by the late designs of the 19th-century Spanish luthier, Antonio Torres Jurado.
The double bass, also known as the upright bass for distinguishing purposes, or simply as the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone, in the modern symphony orchestra. Similar in structure to the cello, it has four or five strings.
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument, that is usually fretted and typically has six or twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A guitar pick may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant hollow chamber on the guitar, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier.
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, such as the jazz quartet or the orchestra. Other music ensembles consist solely of singers, such as choirs and doo-wop groups. In both popular music and classical music, there are ensembles in which both instrumentalists and singers perform, such as the rock band or the Baroque chamber group for basso continuo and one or more singers. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles. Some ensembles blend the sounds of a variety of instrument families, such as the orchestra, which uses a string section, brass instruments, woodwinds, and percussion instruments, or the concert band, which uses brass, woodwinds, and percussion.
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it largely developed out of old-time string music, though in contrast, bluegrass is traditionally played exclusively on acoustic instruments and also has roots in traditional English, Scottish, and Irish ballads and dance tunes as well as in blues and jazz. Bluegrass was further developed by musicians who played with Monroe, including 5-string banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt. Monroe characterized the genre as, "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's a part of Methodist, Holiness and Baptist traditions. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."
A pull-off is a stringed instrument playing and articulation technique performed by plucking or "pulling" the finger that is grasping the sounding part of a string off the fingerboard of either a fretted or unfretted instrument. This intermediate- to advanced playing technique is done using the tip of a finger or fingernail on the fretting hand. Pull-offs are done to facilitate the playing of embellishments and ornaments such as grace notes. Pull-offs may be notated in sheet music or improvised by the performer, depending on the musical style and context.
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fitted with an electric pickup of some type, although "amplified violin" or "electro-acoustic violin" are more accurate then.
The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schecter, Jerry Jones Guitars, Burns London and many other companies have produced electric baritone guitars since the 1960s, although always in small numbers due to low popularity. Tacoma, Santa Cruz, Taylor, Martin, Alvarez Guitars and others have made acoustic baritone guitars.
The electric upright bass (EUB) is an instrument that can perform the musical function of a double bass. It requires only a minimal or 'skeleton' body to produce sound because it uses a pickup and electronic amplifier and loudspeaker. Therefore, a large resonating structure is not required to project the sound into the air. This minimal body greatly reduces the bulk and weight of the instrument. EUBs must always be connected to an amplifier and speaker cabinet to produce an adequate audible sound. The EUB retains enough of the features of the double bass so that double bass players are able to perform on it.
Keller Williams is an American singer, songwriter and musician who combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, along with other assorted genres. He is often described as a 'one-man jam-band' due to his frequent use of live phrase looping with multiple instruments. Keller Williams was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia on February 4, 1970, and began playing the guitar in his early teens. He later matriculated at Virginia Wesleyan College in Virginia Beach where he received his degree in theater. After college, he moved to Colorado to advance his music career and expand his repertoire.
The mandocello is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It is larger than the mandolin, and is the baritone instrument of the mandolin family. Its eight strings are in four paired courses, with the strings in each course tuned in unison. Overall tuning of the courses is in fifths like a mandolin, but beginning on bass C (C2). It can be described as being to the mandolin what the cello is to the violin.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to guitars:
A multi-neck guitar is a guitar that has multiple fingerboard necks. They exist in both electric and acoustic versions. Examples of multi-neck guitars and lutes go back at least to the Renaissance.
In music, standard tuning refers to the typical tuning of a string instrument. This notion is contrary to that of scordatura, i.e. an alternate tuning designated to modify either the timbre or technical capabilities of the desired instrument.
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, resonating through the air in the body, and producing sound from the sound hole. While the original, general term for this stringed instrument is guitar, the retronym 'acoustic guitar' – often used incorrectly to indicate the steel stringed model – distinguishes it from an electric guitar, which relies on electronic amplification. Typically, a guitar's body is a sound box, of which the top side serves as a sound board that enhances the vibration sounds of the strings. In standard tuning the guitar's six strings are tuned (low to high) E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4.
D'lectrified is the eighth studio album by American country music singer Clint Black, released on September 28, 1999. It is also the first album in Black's career that he produced by himself.
Mark Wingfield is an English guitarist and composer based in the UK. Most of his output is rooted in jazz, but he is also active in contemporary classical music. Much of his output is directed towards performing and studio work. Wingfield cites jazz, rock, Indian, Japanese, African, and classical music as influences has written over 70 compositions. He attempts to combine these with classical music.
Markus Reuter is a German multi-disciplinary musician, composer, record producer and instrument designer.
Lichty Guitars is an American company based in Tryon, North Carolina, that has been making custom acoustic guitars and ukuleles since 2009. It was founded by musician Jay Lichty.
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