Records: Snow Beneath the Belly of a White Swan : The Lost Live Recordings by Robbie Basho
Tompkins Square, 2024
Robbie Basho (an orphan, adopted as Daniel Robinson, born 1940 in Baltimore) was perhaps the most mysterious of the solo guitar experimenters of the 1960s: originally a folk-singer and guitarist from Maryland who played blues and country, he eventually coined an ethno-music spiritualism that assimilated white music, black music, Latin music (flamenco), and oriental music (Indian, Persian, Japanese). His declared goal was to create classical music for the “steel stringed guitar.” That intent remained largely unrealistic for him, yet laid the foundations for a deeper musical awareness for future generations of guitarists.
It has been said that Robbie Basho's art was strongest in concert. To what extent the experience can be reconstituted is uncertain. Whatever the case, Snow Beneath the Belly of a White Swan is the mother lode of Basho live recordings. On these five discs we are treated to some remarkable pieces that have never been published, as well as surprising renditions of old favourites.
Compiled from Basho’s sprawling personal collection of master tapes (discovered during the production of Voice of the Eagle: The Enigma of Robbie Basho), and potentially encompassing his entire career, this edition represents a live companion to the studio set, Song of the Avatars: The Lost Master Tapes (Tompkins Square, 2020).
While the tapes have (in the main) survived incredibly well over the decades (against the odds), please note that some previously unpublished tracks with subpar to poor fidelity have been included.