Pierre Bensusan

Born in Oran, French-Algeria, in 1957, Pierre Bensusan's family moved to Paris when he was 4. He began formal studies on piano at the age of 7 and at 11 taught himself guitar. Influenced in those early days by the folk revival blooming in Britain, France and North America, Bensusan began first to explore his own diverse musical heritage and then moved to the horizons beyond. At 17 he signed his first recording contract and one year later, his first album, Pres de Paris, won the Grand Prix du Disque upon his debut at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland.

Working exclusively in the unusual DADGAD tuning, Pierre has developed a signature vocabulary that incorporates elements of Celtic music, American folk and Middle Eastern music, Latin and & Jazz. International tours and innovative recordings have established him as, in the words of pianist George Winston, "one of the truly gifted musicians of our time - he plays the guitar as if it were the very soul of himself...Pierre is a musician who takes chances, and as such he is delving into many unique and previously unexplored techniques and sounds."

Says the accomplished composer and fingerstyle virtuoso, "I think it's important for me as a musician to not reveal too much of myself, but to show that I'm not necessarily at the place where people think I am. I don't know if this is good or not commercially speaking, but I feel that it's good for me to keep my interest and drive intact, the audience interested, motivated and curious to come and check me out regularly."