Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

As much as musicians like Django, Monk, Joe Pass and Ravel have influenced my music, it may surprise some that Chopin has also been influential.

At first, when I was quite young, the attraction to Chopin was only due to the fact that he was Polish and I too have that heritage. In fact, it was a language my grandparents spoke. Later, I became very attached to his solo piano works. The Scherzos and Ballades especially caught my attention though the Etudes, Sonatas and Mazurkas also rate high with me.

Many of my solo guitar pieces (especially on the album Quintessence) are my humble attempts at applying my impressions of Chopin to plectrum guitar.