Education
There he studied the classics with Andrés Segovia protegee Jesus Silva.
(The music of the Balkans presents a treasure trove of pos...)
The music of the Balkans presents a treasure trove of possibilities to a fingerstyle guitarist. The pieces presented here are a small representation of the songs and dances to be encountered, really just scratching the surface. It is my hope that this collection will inspire your own investigations, adaptations and compositions. Titles include: 1. Merak N'Ty Ubana 2. Dimineatsa Dupa Nunta 3. Samiotisa 4. The Blues on Bartok St. 5. Karsilama Interlude 6. Chekerjankino 7. Cymbalom Dance 8. Gorome 9. U Largove Pa Ba Za 10. Fiddle Melody
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786624957/?tag=2022091-20
("Written in notation and tablature, this is a seven-movem...)
"Written in notation and tablature, this is a seven-movement musical suite written by Timothy Sparks and recorded on Acoustic Music Records. Each movement captures a different melodic and rhythmic temperament as found in the Balkan region of Europe. Free audio files available."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786604301/?tag=2022091-20
(Transcriptions from Neshamah, Tim Sparks's ground-breakin...)
Transcriptions from Neshamah, Tim Sparks's ground-breaking recording for Tzadik Records of traditional Jewish melodies arranged for solo guitar. Neshamah is a Hebrew word meaning soul, and in these soulful pieces, Sparks explores the music of the Jewish Diaspora, from the Caucasus to the Carpathians, from the Black Sea to Bosnia, from Jerusalem, Istanbul, Sarajevo, to New York's Lower East Side. Using a unique blend of bluesy string bends, jazz harmony and middle-eastern scales, he sheds new light on these tunes through the prism of fingerstyle guitar. Neshamah received wide critical acclaim in many publications around the world, including Fingerstyle Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Guitar Player, Akustik Gitarre, Acoustic Guitar Japan, Dirty Linen, The Wall Street Journal, CDNOW, All Music Guide and the Amazon.com Editor's Top 100 CDs of 1999. The entire recording has been transcribed here, including an appendix with the complete solos. Several of the arrangements are accessible to intermediate level players while some are better suited to the advanced player. Some of these transcriptions are slightly different than the CD recorded versions and reflect how the composition is currently played by Tim and are notated as such in the Performance Notes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786616164/?tag=2022091-20
There he studied the classics with Andrés Segovia protegee Jesus Silva.
Raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he was given his first guitar when a bout of encephalitis kept him out of school for a year. He was nominated for a scholarship at the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts. While recording three albums with the seminal vocal jazz ensemble Rio Nido, Sparks also became proficient in jazz styles from Brazilian to Bebop, which brought him several regional music awards including Best Acoustic Guitarist, Best Latin Jazz guitarist, and Best Jazz Guitarist in the Minnesota Music Awards.
In the late 90s, Sparks had been immersed in the ethnic music scene and accompanying on guitar in Greek and Klezmer orchestras.
He was a featured performer with Crossing Borders at the Bethlehem International Music Festival in July 1995 and has received two Arts Fellowships to pursue ethno-musicological studies. He spent one fall studying Fado and Portuguese guitar in Lisbon.
In 1989 he arranged Russian folk music for the Guthrie Theater"s adaptation of Uncle Vanya and in 1991 he was commissioned to compose music for Tienanmen, a ballet depicting the student uprising in China, for Myron Johnson"s Ballet of the Dolls. In 2000, Sparks began an association with American composer John Zorn.
He has recorded four highly acclaimed CDs of Jewish Klezmer music adapted for acoustic fingerstyle guitar on Zorn"s label, Tzadik Records.
He earned a McKnight Fellowship to notate and edit the arrangements on Neshamah for publication. Sparks has performed as an opening act for Dolly Parton and has performed on the same stage as Sandor Szabo, Franco Morone, Cyro Baptista, Isato Nakagawa and Bill Frisell. He has also performed on such national venues as A Prairie Home Companion, the main stage of the Winnipeg Folk Festival and the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society.
He has performed at the Edenkoben Festival and the Dresden Guitar Festival in Germany and held a Jazz Guitar teaching residency in Lisbon, Portugal.
He frequently tours Japan, France, Belgium, Austria and Hungary. Sparks is a past faculty member at the University of Minnesota Morris and continues to perform in concert.
(Transcriptions from Neshamah, Tim Sparks's ground-breakin...)
("Written in notation and tablature, this is a seven-movem...)
(The music of the Balkans presents a treasure trove of pos...)
( Digital Sheet Music of Balkan Dreams Suite - Notes Com...)