About Lee Westwood... Lee Westwood is a Brighton-based guitarist and composer. Dedicating much of his time to the tuning DADGAD, Lee exploits the instrument's many facets to create eclectic modern lullabies for the steel strung acoustic guitar, using new dynamics and approaches in his pieces. Born in 1982, Lee began playing at age 10. He studied the electric guitar for several years before making a gradual transition over to the acoustic, on which he developed his own unique style of both fingerpicking and composition. He now composes for other instruments, notably the flute, and for small ensembles. Lee's debut album 'To Sleep (Farewell Songs)', released in 2006, was met with rave reviews. The tracks are predominantly solo guitar, with one guitar duo, two duos for flute and guitar, and one trio for flute and two guitars. The album is accompanied by original artwork by Australian illustrator Adam Oehlers, and features the flute of Philippe Barnes. Recent live performances include Sidmouth Folk Festival, 93 Feet East (Brick Lane), Lewes Guitar Festival, Crawley Folk Festival, The Chapel Royal (Brighton), Small World Festival, One World Festival, Off The Tracks Festival, support for British Folk legends Waterson Carthy, French guitarist Pierre Bensusan, Nick Harper, Richard Smith, Gavin Moore, Joe West and Julian Dawson, several live radio sessions for BBC Southern Counties (with Phil Jackson), Radio Reverb, Juice FM, Radio 4A, Resonance FM, Soundwave Radio, Radio Asturias (with Alberto Toyos), Radio Nacional De España and Onda Cero, and three Spanish tours, including dates in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, San Sebastian, A Coruña, Oviedo, Aviles and Gijon. Lee's compositions were also performed by award-winning guitarist Gerard Mapstone at Tyalgum Classical Music Festival, Australia. In 2006, Guitarist magazine published an interview with Lee Westwood. Other articles in the last year include Guitar & Bass magazine, Guitarra Total, Acoustic magazine, Rocks magazine, and online review sites such as FAME, Minor 7th and Bridge Guitar Reviews. In 2006 Lee also appeared on Cuatrosfera, a Spanish national television program. |
What they say... "...an emerging acoustic instrumentalist with blazing technique, ensuring the fingerpicking tradition remains in safe hands." "...a brilliantly talented young artist, with a broad palette of styles mixed seamlessly together on this album...anyone with an appreciation for the fusion of ideas should love ‘To Sleep’.” "...he'll be a name to know in the future if he keeps this up: remember you heard it here first!" " A breath of fresh air, indispensable..." "Westwood is prodigiously talented and able to create musical landscapes that are abstract, yet always energetic." "Thank goodness for Lee Westwood, whose 'To Sleep (Farewell Songs)' will have guitar players giving up in despair and the rest of us delighted. Very rarely is technical wizardry on an instrument used to say something that otherwise could not be said. Lee manages that and it's a pleasure to hear. One man, an acoustic and (apparently) four hundred thousand fingers." "...an astonishing acoustic guitar talent, Lee Westwood presents his very own approach to music. Lee surely impresses as a guitar player and composer, as well as with his new album 'To Sleep'. Check him out!" |
