Music
Press
"Michael Hedges opened a whole new world of acoustic guitar music by his revolutionary two-handed tapping. Players like Preston Reed have added strong percussive elements, and young guns like Justin King are exploring new boundaries of speed and power. But sometimes in all the banging and gonging, I really just want to hear a coherent melody developed through the movement of the song. In her second solo release "Images," Colorado-based Jaquie Gipson shows why she is gaining a strong regional and even national following. There's plenty of popping, tapping, banging and scraping happening to satisfy the non-traditionalists who want the guitar to be a box of all trades. But Gipson also marks time in distinctly melodic ways, using fingerstyle where it works well. One of the strengths of this music is that her compositions know when to stop -- there is not an endless dragging out of sound. "Hummingbird" picks us up in its flight of fancy, darting and dashing with effective tapping but presenting this diminutive sprite is all its resplendent glory. "Gettysburg" beautifully haunts us with images of that national tragedy. "Spirit Warrior" evokes the spirituality of the peoples of the First Nations in a blend of percussion, flute, and guitar to bring us to the war council (several cuts have a Native American feel). My favorite piece is "Autumn's Song," one of the best fingerstyle songs I have ever heard. It's one of those you just can't get out of your mind, like a sweet walk through the gently falling leaves on a sunny, cool afternoon."
© Kirk Albrecht Minor 7th - www.minor7th.com
"Jaquie Gipson is one of those guitarists you're glad you discovered before anyone else did. Her music is deceptively unassuming, but is actually loaded with all sorts of complex techniques, most notably a heavy dose of two-hand tapping. I was recently hanging out with Jaquie and another colleague who asked her how she spent her free time. "Practicing my guitar," she said. Jaquie then sat down to play a Northwood Mini-Jumbo I had just purchased, and his only response was, "I guess you've been practicing A LOT"."
--John Fowler Shoreline Music
- Shoreline Music
"Let me give you a really good tip. The next time Jaquie Gipson performs in your area, run, don’t walk to get a front row seat. If you have not heard her brand of playing, you are in for a special experience. Jaquie does not just play the guitar. She strokes, drums, and double taps the instrument, coaxing beautiful thoughts, ideas, memories and emotions out of that piece of wood."
--Phylis Stark Acoustic Spotlight Black Rose Acoustic Society
- Black Rose Acoustic Society
"Jaquie Gipson's acoustic guitar CD "Hometown" exudes warmth, wit and guitar wizardry. Jaquie's music captures her own strong emotions and presents them in engrossing original music, inspired by Messrs. Kottke, Hedges, and Preston Reed (and maybe fellow Coloradan blueslady extraordinaire Mary Flower). The uptempo pieces are played with great energy and flair, and the slower pieces with soul. After listening, we want to know her better, and in the world of solo efforts, what could be a higher compliment?"
--El McMeen - El McMeen
"To watch her play is truly a joy... . Jaquie's [performance] was at times energetic and vibrant, slow, soft and soothing at others... . But what makes her performances special is that she doesn't take herself too seriously, making light of what she does, as if it WERE nothing too special. Hardly!!"
-- George Rivera, Host, After Hours Acoustic Gallery
- Pueblo Singers and Songwriters Association
"The names Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges are often mentioned in the same breath. But the two really manifest contrary guitar styles. It would be as difficult to imagine Kottke slapping harmonics from his guitar as it would be to imagine Hedges power-plucking a churning rag on 12-string. That a hometown mom and wife from tiny Trinidad, Colorado would be the one to artfully hybridize the styles of these two masters might raise eyebrows. And raise they should for Jaquie Gipson. Try this. Subject your most musically knowledgeable friends to a blindfold test with five tracks from Gipson's "Hometown": "Wazubi", "Chicken Chase", "Plato's Playground", "Ride the Wind" and "Rush Hour". Damned if ten out of ten of them won't confidently proclaim that's Leo Kottke. You might get a more varied response when you quiz them on "Tap Dance", "Francisco Street" and "High Wire", with many venturing Hedges' name but also a smattering of the names Billy McLaughlin and Preston Reed."
-- Minor 7th
- www.minor7th.com
"This lady is fantastic! She has technique and melody working together.....Jacquie has a depth and maturity to her playing that is simply wonderful."
--FreeSoloGuitar.com
- www.freesologuitar.com
Discography
CDs
Just Guitar 1997
Hometown 2000
Images 2004
Radio Airplay or Digital Downloads
Shine On
Tapdance
Colorado
Lullaby
Gettysburg
My Son
Journey
Autumn's Song
Train to Trinidaddio
Photos
Bio
"Music is what feelings sound like."
-- Unknown
I began playing the guitar at the age of 14. My first real guitar was a Fender Mustang (Yes, I still have it). I played rhythm guitar in a small garage band and also in the High School Stage Band.
It was when I was in college that I first heard of Leo Kottke and his amazing guitar playing. It changed the way I thought guitars were played. I put the electric guitar down and picked up the acoustic. I listened to dozens of guitarists, both acoustic and electric. They have all influenced my playing in one way or another.
In 1997 I recorded my first CD "Just Guitar". "Hometown" followed in 2000 and my latest CD "Images" was released in 2004. All 3 CDs incorporate traditional fingerstyle along with a double tapping technique, and all songs are original compositions.
For me, music creates images. Each of my songs create their own image for me spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. These range from a mother’s fondest memories of her children she once held as they are about to graduate from High School to the hope and agony of soldiers on a battlefield long silent but forever remembered. Many of my compositions are inspired by and reflect the Southern Colorado landscape from the snow capped mountains to the mesas and canyons; this is the environment in which I live. Other songs begin with experiences, emotions, memories and the people I meet along life’s journey. As my songs develop, they seem to take on a life of their own, coming from and going to places over which I seem to have no direct control. It is as though my guitar is but the voice of a greater power. It is my hope that my music will help renew your spirit of wonder and create your own images to the music of life.
"A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."
--Leopold Stokowski
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