Hearing Pierre Bensusan and John Renbourn play in a small acoustic venue last night was both inspiring and discouraging.

I guess that one of the things I found really impressive was how smoothly they blended elements from different genres into some pieces; the classical and jazz influences in Renbourn's celtic ballads, and the latin and arabic textures in Bensusan's modern compositions. The cleanliness of both fretting and picking was incredibly smooth for both players, and I'd is was simply the best couple of hours of acoustic guitar playing I've ever heard.

Some of the experimenting I've done with percussive techniques in modern pieces and counter-melodies for celtic accompaniment seem relatively normal after listening to those two guys play. On the other hand, ... damn ... they are really good.

I dunno what my style is anymore, but I sure have a lot of learning left.

~S~