After our 3-day Milan trip, Friday was a morning to sleep in, then spend a leisurely afternoon, whilst Franco and company were off preparing for the 5pm concert & lecture which Franco had conceived to mark the 75th anniversary of Taraffo’s death.  The program (at left) was designed to celebrate his legacy, but especially to [...]

In 2010, Jaci and I made an unprecedented trip (for us) to Genoa, guests of Franco Ghisalberti (my Taraffo collaborator) and his fellow philanthropist friend Alberto Basso.  It was part vacation, part harp guitar “work,” and all fun.  Truly as spectacular and emotional a 10 days as I could ever hope for – I hope [...]

I’ve been meaning to write about this for some time, but it took awhile to finish the new Stauffer & Co. book.  Not so much reading it, but absorbing it. Lots to digest here – so many new instruments and information! Copies are available direct from Stauffer & Co., and now in the States from [...]

Here is a special piece that has been in the works since a short teaser I did in October, 2010, in a blog entitled “A Two Person Trio?”. I closed that little oxymoronic mystery with a promise of the unveiling of a unique harp guitar…and here it is! The unprecedented instrument  is part of a [...]

Once he became a bona fide harp guitarist (have you seen the video?), Christian quickly saw the need for a modern instrument built for a modern musician’s needs.  Obviously, he required some form of classical guitar, but one with a full 8 basses to play the music of Taraffo.   He also decided that the missing [...]

You’ve now heard four recordings of Taraffo transcriptions by the amazing Christian Saggese, as presented on my blogs of Sept 25 and Nov 15, and now archived on the site. It’s quite another to see it in performance.  From private footage and audio supplied by Franco, I have finished editing and posting the Cavalleria Rusticana [...]

A fourth transcription and recording has been completed by Christian Saggese (see The Second Coming of Taraffo).  Once again donated to Harpguitars.net, this is the Sonatina in la maggiore (A major) written by Pasquale Taraffo. All 4 recordings can be found on the Taraffo home page. Enjoy!

…Christmas Present, to be precise.  Nearly 2 years in the making, this one is pretty special. Frank and I are delighted to have ended up with somewhat of a “world music” flavor (both artists and material) for a very diverse mix of interesting, melodic and beautiful music. And, of course, my stellar packaging and extensive, [...]

I’m happy to report continuing interest in the great Pasquale Taraffo; three recent events in fact. First, I’m proud to present a brand new 8000-word analysis of Taraffo’s musical role in Genoa and beyond, written by Giorgio De Martino, a prolific and respected Italian writer and lecturer on the world of opera.  His remarkable, introspective [...]

Stephen Bennett originally described him as “a character” and someone who captivates audiences with his stories and songs.  A member of the popular west coast and touring band Marley’s Ghost, in which he plays Dobro, pedal steel, fiddle and other instruments, the talented Ed Littlefield Jr. is also a solo act.  Inspired by his friend [...]