Knoxville Guitar Society

Knoxville Guitar Society Presents

Bill Mize

Saturday, May 15, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets $15 at the door

“... An amazing touch, killer tone and a sense of taste that can't be beat."

-Vintage Guitar Magazine

Appalachian fingerstyle guitarist and composer Bill Mize appeared with the emerging acoustic guitar movement in the 1980s, and has continued to develop a style and sense of taste that influences many of today's guitarists. Applauded by critics and guitar enthusiasts alike for his composition, tone, emotion and smoothly syncopated counterpoint, Tennessee guitarist Bill Mize is a past winner of The National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition at The Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. Guitar Player Magazine has labeled this event the “U.S. Open of guitar competitions”. For all his accolades, one would never guess that he is self-taught, the homegrown product of the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Bill received a GRAMMY Award for his collaboration with storyteller David Holt on the recording Stellaluna, and has been featured on the popular guitar compilations "Windham Hill Guitar Sampler" by Windham Hill Records and "Masters of the Acoustic Guitar" by Narada Records. Mel Bay Productions have transcribed Mize's second CD, Tender Explorations, into a songbook. In 2009, Bill’s music will appear in the new Ken Burns’ documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”.

Bill is a frequent clinician / performer at guitar festivals including the Healdsburg Guitar Festival in California, The Newport Guitar Festival in Rhode Island, Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina, and Steve Kaufmann's Guitar Camp in Tennessee. While drawing inspiration from legends of Appalachia, soul, jazz, folk and rock, his original music has been described as varying from delicate appalachian highland melodies to greasy Memphis grooves, performed in such a smooth yet syncopated fashion, you'd swear there was another guitarist on stage. Rather than only rely on wowing with his impressive "chops", Bill draws an audience in with his composition, emotion and tone.

"Dale Miller of Acoustic Guitar Magazine writes"...Mize's tone is lovely and his technique is state-of-the-art. He combines form and substance to create music so sublime and accessible I was almost

sighing out loud.

.....

Stephen Ide of Dirty Linen Magazine writes "... To

call Mize guitar maestro would be understating his ability

to transport listeners beyond what most guitarists can

only hope to accomplish."

.....

Bill Milkowski of Jazziz Magazine writes "... Mize's

touch is magic. His ideas flow in rapid succession

throughout this acoustic guitar showcase. “

.....

Besides the Windham Hill and Narada recordings, Bill

has four independent releases available, Sugarlands,

Tender Explorations, Coastin' and his recently

released Joyful Noise, described by Vintage Guitar

Magazine as “ ten songs of pure joy”.