by Ari Eisinger

Contrary to the rumors, blues and ragtime guitarist Ari Eisinger has only 10 fingers. It just sounds as if he has more. His mission is to preserve the classic blues and ragtime tunes from the 1920s and 1930s. - The Plain Dealer

He's a fingerpicking guitar player par excellence who specializes in country blues and ragtime from the 1920s and 1930s... His playing is astoundingly complex and precise, obviously reverential yet filled with personal touches... A brilliant musician... he sounds like four people playing at once. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Ari Eisinger is one of the most dazzling country blues and ragtime guitarists playing today. Listen to his astonishing performances of the music of Blind Blake and you will hear things no guitar player has managed to pull off since Blake himself disappeared in the early 1930s. The sportin' right hand, the piano rhythms, the notes everybody else leaves out - they're all there. "One of the finest fingerpickers I've heard anywhere," "One of the top guitarists in the country," "One of the finest interpreters of traditional blues and ragtime" - these are just a few of the reactions from critics and fellow musicians to Ari's remarkable way with the blues of the 1920s and '30s. Able to shift effortlessly from complex East Coast ragtime to the propulsive rhythm of the guitar evangelists to down-home Texas country blues, Ari is one of the most authentic musicians you are ever likely to encounter.

His interpretations of the songs of masters like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Memphis Minnie and Reverend Gary Davis have been called "downright spooky" for the way the styles of these pioneering guitar heroes are brought vibrantly back to life. Whether he is taking on the crystal tone and virtuosity of Lonnie Johnson or the liquid bends of Josh White played on a low-tuned Stella guitar, Ari deftly recalls the great music of the past while bring-ing his own brilliant musical personality to bear on some of the neglected classics of the blues.

Based in Philadelphia, Ari has toured across the US and performed in the UK and Japan, sharing the bill along the way with artists like Doc Watson, John Jackson, Dave Van Ronk, Paul Geremia and Taj Mahal. He has led guitar classes both in the US and the UK, and he is a featured instructor for Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop. Opportunities to see him in concert don't happen nearly as often as fans would like, so this collection of Ari performing some of his favorite material, filmed in 2001 and 2009, will be a welcome treat.

Running time 98 minutes

DVD is region 0, playable worldwide.

Product Number:    13119DVD

Format:    DVD

Skill Level:    Not Applicable

Binding:    Boxed

Size:    5.25 x 7.5

Date Published:    04_29_2010