Johnson County Community College
Press Release
College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Associate Vice President, Marketing Communications, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122
8/25/09
Story by Peggy Graham
Tommy Emmanuel — guitar extraordinaire
Recognized as one of the greatest living acoustic guitar players, two-time Grammy nominee Tommy Emmanuel will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, in Yardley Hall of the Carlsen Center, Johnson County Community College. Fellow Australian Rick Price, also an acoustic guitar player, is the opening act.
A household name in his native Australia, Emmanuel’s unique style, known as “finger style,” is akin to playing guitar the way a pianist plays piano using all 10 fingers.
Locals may know him, too, from appearances at the Walnut Valley Festival, Winfield. Emmanuel describes his music as “soulful, yet playful.” During concerts, he plays the guitar (and sometimes the drums), sings the lyrics and connects with the audience. The repertoire is jazz, rock, blues, folk, country and classical.
Emmanuel’s professional career spans more than five decades and continues to intersect with some of the finest musicians throughout the world. He began playing guitar at age 4 by learning to play by ear without any formal instruction. Emmanuel and his older brother Phil were child prodigies, starting their professional careers in the 1960s. By the age of 6, Tommy was already working as a professional musician. Shortly after his father's death in 1966, the Emmanuel family was approached by Australian country music star Buddy Williams, who took the family on the road until they were forced by the Australian child welfare department to stop traveling.
Guitar legend Chet Atkins was one of the first to inspire Emmanuel to pick up the guitar as a child. Decades later, Atkins himself became one of Emmanuel's biggest fans, honoring Emmanuel with the title of "Certified Guitar Player" for his lifetime contribution to the instrument in 1999.
Atkins eventually recorded with Emmanuel in 1996 on The Day the Finger Pickers Took Over the World, for which Emmanuel received his first Grammy award nomination. This was also Atkins last recording.
Emmanuel recorded a new double CD and DVD, Center Stage, released in 2008, which contains many of the guitarist’s current showstoppers — a Beatles Medley, Mombasa, Initiation (an aboriginal tribute song), House of the Risin’ Sun and Sukiyaki for his Japanese fans.
In addition to his storied career, which includes 16 music and instructional recordings, Emmanuel is also an accomplished record producer and musical arranger. Accolades include his 2007 Grammy nomination for Gameshow Rag from The Mystery CD, induction into the Thumb Pickers Hall of Fame in Muhlenberg, Ky., (the only non-American so honored), and Acoustic Guitar Magazine readers’ poll for placing in the top three favorite artists. Emmanuel was voted Rolling Stone (Australia) Magazine's "Most Popular Guitarist" for two consecutive years.
Emmanuel has performed with hundreds of musical legends including Les Paul, Keith Urban, Eric Clapton, Sir George Martin, Tina Turner, Joe Walsh, Stevie Wonder, Nokie Edwards (of the Ventures), Philharmonic, the Dortmund (Germany) Symphony and the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra.
For this performance, Emmanuel is joined by Price who plays multiple instruments and recently released Revisited, a collection of his best-known songs on acoustic guitar. He is also known for his songwriting. In 2007, several of his recordings appeared in the Australian film, December Boys (starring Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe), including the movie’s featured track Nobody Knows My Name.
Tickets for Emmanuel and Price are $30, available by calling the Performing Arts Series box office at 913-469-4445 or online at www.jccc.edu/TheSeries. The public is invited to join Tommy Emmanuel at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 9 in Yardley Hall to experience up close his technique and a Q & A. No charge.
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