Bio

Scott Ainslie

Press Kit:

	Biography
	Reviews
	Photos

Solo Recordings:

	You Better Lie Down
	Terraplane
	Jealous of the Moon

Teaching Materials:

	Robert Johnson: At the Crossroads (Book)
	Robert Johnson's Guitar Techniques (Video)
	Guitar Workshops

Schools:

	BluesRoots Teacher's Study Guide
	Teaching Concerts

Bookings:

Loyd Artists

Contact:

ainslie@musician.org

Performance Schedule

Product Order Form

Last modified: April 09, 2004

Starting out after hearing the recently departed Virginia Bluesman John Jackson in 1967, Ainslie has been immersed in Blues and American traditional music. Ainslie took an independent BA in Music Theory and Composition from Washington & Lee University, and graduated Magna Cum Laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa in 1974. He has worked in avante garde and Broadway theater productions, toured in Europe under the auspices of the United States Information Service, and in addition to touring nationally and internationally has worked as an artist in educational settings, presenting teaching concerts on the African roots of American music. These popular teaching concerts illustrate America's hidden music history with live performances of worksongs, blues, gospel and jazz. Ainslie is a mesmerizing historian and inspired musician who has a deep reverence for the tradition and history of the music he presents.

Drawing on the musical legacies of Delta Blues legends Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, the East Coast's Blind Blake, and Durham's own Reverend Gary Davis and Blind Boy Fuller; Scott is a noted performer and scholar with more than a decade of experience teaching elements of African and African-American music to students of all ages, both in the classroom and from the stage.
Coming of age during the Civil Rights era, Scott continues to have a deep reverence and affection for cross-racial exchange and approaches the tradition with the care and respect it is due. Scott honors the African and American roots of the tradition and presents a mesmerizing tour of both the music and the history of the Blues.

I make my living playing guitar (I'm also a recovering old-time fiddler). If you're interested in acoustic blues, Robert Johnson, traditional or contemporary guitar music; you may enjoy this site.

John Jackson was the first blues musician I ever met. He was a grave digger in northern Virginia back in '67. He took the stage at Groveton High School after a pleasant set by Mike Seeger, playing syncopated, ragtime/Piedmont blues. I was floored. He set the hook pretty deep. I played on borrowed guitars all summer.

A series of events further shaped my music:

	Being loaned an album of Mississippi John Hurt's music;
	A chance encounter with my geology professor (you can have one, too, if you'll visit Odell's Home Page);
	Numerous trips up into West Virginia to visit a bunch of 70 year-old's (who played fiddles and banjos, and sang traditional music);
	The study and composition of a lot of atonal chamber music [Webern, Berg, Schoenberg, Varese, Don Martino, Elliott Carter...];
	A serious collision with Robert Johnson's recordings;
	A truncated association with Robert Wilson and Phil Glass in "Einstein On The Beach";
	Brief gigs off-Broadway (with the Performance Group...Spaulding Gray, Liz LeCompte, et al) and nearly on, with "Cotton Patch Gospel"(a 'bluegrass' musical Tom Key, Russell Treyz, Harry & Tom Chapin composed);
	And a number of recordings of old-time music.

I have conducted workshops and given sample master classes for artists and teachers for the South Carolina Arts Council's artist-in-education conferences and continue to be a much sought-after presenter for educators and students alike. In the process, I developed information and classroom activities that may be used to supplement classroom instruction, music programs, or to amplify the impact of blues or blues related performances. Concentrating now on teaching concerts and presentations, I have chosen to make these activities freely available on the Internet as a reciprocal gift to the classroom and music teachers, from whom I have learned so much about the arts of both music and teaching, over the years.

To subscribe to Scott's BluesNotes mailings and his general e-mail list: ainslie@musician.org

Cattail Music, Inc.
101 Washington Street
Brattleboro, VT
05301 USA
Tel. (802) 257-7391