Max Ochs (born Maxwell David Ochs in Queens, New York, Dec 31, 1940) is a fingerstyle acoustic guitarist and folklorist who recorded for Takoma Records among other labels.
Max Ochs (born Maxwell David Ochs in Queens, New York, Dec 31, 1940) is a fingerstyle acoustic guitarist and folklorist who recorded for Takoma Records among other labels.
His family moved to Annapolis, Maryland, in 1945, where Ochs spent his adolescence. His friendship and association with guitarist John Fahey led to many music collaborations, including that of Mississippi John Hurt who spent weeks teaching Ochs older picking styles.
After attending high school in Annapolis, Ochs studied at the University of Maryland, College Park where he became friends with Ed Denson in a creative writing class. Denson, along with John Fahey, went on to form Takoma Records in Berkeley, California in 1963. Without a degree, Ochs left University of Maryland and moved to New York City where he lived from 1961 to 1965. During his time in New York, he collaborated with Buzzy Linhart and was a founding member of the folk-raga group, the Seventh Sons. [1] After leaving New York and heading west in 1965, Ochs was invited to appear with fellow University of Maryland student and fingerstyle guitarist Robbie Basho, as well as John Fahey and Harry Taussig on a Takoma Records release titled Contemporary Guitar. [2] The LP presents a collection of fingerstyle guitar songs often performed in a subtle and sometimes improvised manner. Ochs returned to College Park and received his degree in 1970.
Legendary folk singer Phil Ochs (1940-1976) was a cousin of Max.
Now based in Severna Park, Maryland, Ochs continues to perform, write and record songs in an early folk and blues tradition. He was the curator of the folk music series at 333 Coffeehouse in Annapolis for over a decade.
Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s. It was named after Fahey's hometown, Takoma Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death is a 1965 album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. Originally issued in a hand-lettered edition of 50, it was Fahey's first album to be released by a label other than his own Takoma Records. As with all of Fahey's independently released early albums, it had little critical recognition upon release. The album has grown in stature since its reissue on CD in 1997 and is now highly regarded critically. It was Fahey's fourth album to see release, though after his fifth album, The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions, was labeled Guitar Vol. 4, reissues of The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death were subtitled John Fahey, Volume 5.
American primitive guitar is a fingerstyle guitar music genre, developed by the American guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s. While the term "American primitivism" has been used as a name for the genre, American primitive guitar is distinct from the primitivism art movement.
Blind Joe Death is the first album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. There are three different versions of the album, and the original self-released edition of fewer than 100 copies is extremely rare.
Stefan Grossman is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer, music producer and educator, and co-founder of Kicking Mule records. He is known for his instructional videos and Vestapol line of videos and DVDs.
John Aloysius Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who played the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been enormously influential and has been described as the foundation of the genre of American primitive guitar, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the self-taught nature of the music and its minimalist style. Fahey borrowed from the folk and blues traditions in American roots music, having compiled many forgotten early recordings in these genres. He would later incorporate 20th-century classical, Portuguese, Brazilian, and Indian influences into his work.
Eugene "ED" Denson is an American music group manager, producer, record label owner, and, later, lawyer, who has made notable contributions to folk, blues, and early San Francisco rock.
James Blackshaw is an English, Hastings-based folk fingerstyle guitarist and pianist. Blackshaw primarily plays an acoustic 12 string guitar and has been compared to Bert Jansch, Robbie Basho, John Fahey, Jack Rose, and Leo Kottke. He has released albums on the labels Celebrate Psi Phenomenon, Barl Fire Recordings, Static Caravan, Digitalis Industries, Important Records, Tompkins Square, and Young God Records.
Robbie Basho was an American acoustic guitarist, pianist and singer.
The Voice of the Turtle is the seventh album by American guitarist John Fahey. Recorded and released in 1968, it is considered one of his more experimental albums, combining not only folk elements, but shreds of psychedelia, early blues, country fiddles, ragas, and white noise. The album had many reissues with various track listings, jacket designs and mismatched titles.
Micah Smaldone is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist based in Maine. He was a member of several New England area bands, and is best known for the solo music made under his given name, Micah Blue Smaldone.
Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes is a 1963 album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. Various sources show either a 1963 or 1964 original release. It was Fahey's second release and the first to gain a national distributor.
The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites is the third album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1965. The 1999 reissue contained four previously unreleased tracks.
The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions is an album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1966. The cover simply labels the album Guitar Vol. 4 while the liner notes label it The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions. The title never appeared on the record labels themselves. It marked the beginning of Fahey's interest in his recording of experimental soundscapes and sound effects. Despite Fahey's distaste for the 1960s counterculture, it is his release most often referred to as psychedelic.
Requia is the eighth album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. Released in November 1967, it was the first of Fahey's two releases on the Vanguard label. It originally received hostile reviews from music critics, particularly for its musique concrète experimentation. It has since been recognised as precursor to new-age music, and has been re-released multiple times, including by Terra in 1985, Vanguard in 1997 and 1998 and Ace in 1998.
The Best of John Fahey 1959–1977 is a compilation album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1977. The songs are collected from four of Fahey's dozen or so releases up to that point.
Let Go is an album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1984. It was his first release on the Varrick label after over 25 years on his own label Takoma, as well as a few releases on other labels.
Mark Steed Fosson was an American singer-songwriter and American primitive guitarist who grew up in eastern Kentucky, where he began writing songs while he was still in his early teens. He got his start in the mid to late 1960s, playing in local rock bands until going into service with the Air Force in 1971, and returning home around 1974.
Harry Arthur Taussig is an American physicist, biochemist, collage artist, photographer, film analyst, author, academic, and fingerstyle guitarist.
Tompkins Square Records is an independent record label producing archival releases of gospel, blues, jazz, and country music.
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