Luke Winslow-King
Biography
Hailing from Cadillac Michigan, Luke Winslow-King is a singer/songsmith, multi-instrumentalist and composer on a journey to become a true musical expeditionary. Inspired by New Orleans rag time, impressionism, delta and country blues, poetry, folk, and classical composition, his sound is both rustic and elegant.
Beginning his studies in classical and jazz guitar at Interlochen Arts Academy, King studied music theory and composition at the University of New Orleans taking courses in piano, conducting, and orchestration. He sang tenor in the UNO Honors Chorale and was awarded an ambassador scholarship to study Czech classical music at St. Charles University in Prague. Back on the streets of the Crescent City he learned gospel and jazz standards accompanying John Boutte, picked up bottleneck guitar from blues maestro Roberto Luti, and memorized an entire repertoire of traditional jazz tunes playing with The Loose Marbles Jazz Band and the legendary Lisa Driscoll. In New York City, King studies composition privately and recorded with Grammy nominated avant-garde composer 'Blue' Gene Tyranny, attended Jack Hardy's legendary songwriter's circle, performed in John Sinclair's Blues Scholars, and studied poetry with his writing partner Ji Un Choi who holds degrees in poetry from the University of Virginia and New York University.
King and fellow Earthwork Music founders Seth Bernard and Daniel Kahn Presented 'From California to the New York Island' the songs and stories of Woody Guthrie by taking it artistically and literally around the country in the fall of '03. Since then, King has recorded and collaborated on various albums for Earthwork Music and Tapes Records.
King has composed original theatre scores for productions of Henry James's "Turn of the Screw" in New Orleans with Cartoon network artist, filmmaker, and composer Cosmo Segurson, as well as a production of Georg Buchner's "Wozzeck" in Central Park, NYC. He has written original film scores for a feature-length script, "The Shotgun Waltz" and short films, "Pigeon" and "Wanted in Rome," which he also co-stars in as an actor.
King was employed as a music therapist by the Institutes of Applied Human Dynamics in the Bronx ('04), enabling people with developmental disabilities to express themselves through music, and held a music teacher's position at the La Velle School for the Blind. He produced recordings and performances in both positions.
For the past several years, King has been performing solo concerts in the U.S. and Europe, continually reinventing himself and experimenting with his talents in composition, guitar, piano, orchestration, improvisation and performance.
To date, Luke Winslow-King is traveling around singing sets of old-time music a well as his original material accompanied by his National Reso-Phonic guitar. He recorded a new solo record in January 2008 and is preparing a New Orleans inspired album to be recorded March 2008.
PRESS QUOTES
"Luke's songwriting is quite literary and exceptionally moving. His knowledge of the old ways is unending. He's the only actual rambling man I know." -Cesar Alvarez, Music Is Free Now
"A brilliant songwriter and composer, Luke Winslow-King has earned his grit playing live on the streets of New Orleans. Not to be missed!" -Michael Erlewine, Founder All-Music Guide
"Winslow-King's voice has a quiet, haunting quality to it, reminiscent of Neil Young (if Neil were a great singer)." -Kate Shepard, Minor 7th
"A truly talented singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist." -Salvatore Esposito, Il Popolo del Blues
"Imagine a somewhat more soft-spoken Leadbelly singing “Goodnight Irene” with a string quartet." -Phil Wintermute, Elderly Instruments
Luke Winslow-King Album Review
Luke Winslow-King's debut album marries people's music with elements of poetry and classical composition through his songs for strings, guitar and voice. The bold, yet graceful tone of his steel-bodied National Reso-Phonic guitar coupled with the traditional voicing of a string quartet is both rustic and elegant. The foundation of the album lies in the balance of fingerstyle guitar with violin, viola and cello, though supplementary instrumentation of bass, piano, Hammond organ and whistling are simple, elegant complements to these compositions.
Winslow-King’s unique vocals find strength in the delicacy of his rich vibrato and accessible style that perfectly relates the words of his long-time writing partner and playwright Ji Un Choi. The opening track, "Fall Down the Boulder" is a romanticized lament of the impossibilities of love. "If I could walk walls/ and lift the waters/ I'd be the one for you." This sets an air of nostalgia and exodus, themes revisited throughout the album. An exceptionally stirring piece, "Flood Waltz," was written long before Hurricane Katrina, but gained an eerie significance after the tragedy.
keep an axe in the attic
hold your worries at bay
have Bertie tie a boat to the roof
I’ll be chasing this letter from an upriver town
rushing to hold you o’er watery ground
In addition to the Winslow-King/Un Choi lyrical collaborations, new life is found in the Gerard Manley Hopkins poem, Spring and Fall (to a young child) set to music. Pigeon, a song depicting one bird’s determination to reach the moon is a humorous departure from the sobering melancholia of many of the other songs. Cosmo Segurson, dear friend of Winslow-King’s and Emmy nominated animator, filmmaker and free-lancer for Cartoon Network is credited for the words and music of that song.
A member of the Michigan-based Earthwork Music Collective, Winslow-King called on the services of many talented friends. Notable among them, Breathe Owl Breathe cellist Andrea Moreno-Beals, Steppin’ In It bassist Dominic Suchyta, award-winning vocalist ‘Daisy’ May Erlewine, best known for her duo with Seth Bernard, and organist Mike Lynch who has performed most recently with the Larry McCray Blues Band.
Performance Experience
Luke Winslow-King started getting paid to play in a weekly house band at Curly's Bar 15 years of age. In high school he forged his own Winslow-King Blues Band, playing electric guitar and vocals, backed by a drummer and bassist. They performed at local bars, as well as the Wheatland Music festival (Remus, MI). King won best solo at the All State Jazz Competition in '00, did a local tour with Interlochen Arts Academy's Classical Guitar Dectet, and played in Western Michigan University's Gold Company II. King embarked on his first national tour in 2002 accompanying Seth Bernard and performed at cafes and house concerts in: Cadillac, Gaylord, Ann Arbor, Boulder, Berkley, LA, Austin. They played The Old Settlers Festival in Texas, The Neutral Ground and The Louisiana Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans as well as The Ark in Ann Arbor opening for Dan Bern. King has performed at many a Michigan music festival, completed several national tours, and has spread his sound around central and western Europe.
King has played in:
Michigan:
The Earthwork Harvest Gathering, Bliss Fest, Farm Fest, Spirit of the Woods, Cadillac's First Night Celebration, Gopherwood Series, and City Park Series, Bells Brewery, Kraftbrau,and The State Theatre in Kalamazoo, The Manistee City Park Series, Interlochen Center for the Arts, The Mackinac Island Jazz Festival
New Orleans:
Downtown Tipitina's, Cafe Brazil, The Apple Barrel, The Spotted Cat, Cajun's Pub, DBA, El Matador, Donna's Bar and Grill, Sean Kelly's, Cafe Beignet, Cosimo's, The Sound Cafe, The Blue Nile, The Howlin' Wolf
New York:
The Fez, Union Hall, Galapagos, Mickie's Blue Room, Bait and Tackle, Otto's Shrunken Head, Sidewalk Cafe, Superfly
Rome:
Theater Argentina Largo, Hotel De Russie, The Drunken Ship, La Testa Matte and house concerts
Solo Street Shows in:
Chicago, New Orleans, New York, Nashville, Memphis, San Francisco, Berlin, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich, Vienna, Prague, Rome, Florence, Venice, Amalfi, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Pomplona, and San Sebastien
High Res Photos
To download, right click and go to "save as" ....
Projects & News
[Oct 6th, 2007] Luke Winslow-King
Previous Page