Studio 360

There was a music store in our neighborhood when I was a kid, and one evening my father noted that I was transfixed gazing at the instruments in the window. He asked if I wanted to play an instrument. I said - Yes, I want to play guitar. So in November of 1965 I started taking guitar lessons. My first teacher was John Savolainen, a jazz and big band guitarist. At first I was totally flummoxed. I do not have much talent for music, and it was really hard to make anything approaching music come out of the box with the strings attached. But we both persevered, and one day, maybe a year down the line, we played a written duet. John accompanied and I played the melody, everything clicked into place. Suddenly, the skies opened and I saw heaven for a moment. I've spent the rest of my life looking for those moments.