Move Over Micheal Hedges - Jaquie's Coming

In case you haven’t heard, Jaquie Gipson is close to finishing her 4th and long-awaited CD. I stopped in to see her earlier this week, and she let me listen to some of the tracks she’s been recording. Hang on, ‘cause you’re going to like it.

If you haven’t seen and heard Jaquie play, you are missing out on one of life’s treasures. Jaquie Gipson is an acoustical guitarist / songwriter / finger tapper whose music is up there with the best names in the genre. She masterfully plays her instrument with an elegance that has been called poetry in motion by Taylor Guitars.

On her Images CD Jaquie demonstrates her range of musical versatility. From the flightful fancy of Hummingbird to the toe-tapping rhythms of Buffalo Song, you can’t help but be drawn into her music. Lizard Rock’s jazzy feel, the haunting cannon echoes of Gettysburg, and the soulful Native American sounds of Spirit Warrior further showcase her incredible talent. All the songs on Jaquie’s CDs are her original compositions.

Jaquie’s songs are about her real-life experiences, from Snowbound after a Colorado blizzard to Chicken Chase about a mean rooster on Hometown, her second CD released in 2000. In Visions, Jaquie uses an E-Bow to produce a decidedly eerie effect on this Native American-feeling song. Anyone who’s ever gone on a vision quest, or even wanted to go on one, will be deeply moved by Visions.

On her first CD Just Guitar, you can hear her gifted playing without the adornment of other instruments or vocal effects. It is, as the title suggests, Just Guitar. Jaquie uses open tunings on many of her songs. These tunings may be viewed on her website.

Jaquie has shared the stage with such wonderful musicians as Johnny Watson, Willson & Mckee, and Acoustic Eidelon. Every year since its inception in 1999, she has opened the Tinidaddio Blues Festival. Her music is played on National Public Radio, and she played on the main stage for the 2002 Winter NAMM show and on the Taylor Guitars Stage for the same show.

An excellent instructor, she has conducted many guitar workshops on college campuses and music stores, and taught guitar at Trinidad State Junior College. She currently teaches privately.

Many of the other finger-tapping, guitar-drumming instrumentalists we see and listen to sacrifice musicality and melody to technique, but not Jaquie. Her cohesive melodies make her music as beautiful to hear as her graceful playing is to watch.

Jaquie Gipson’s music is as genuine and unpretentious as she is. From Trinidad, Colorado, where she lives with her husband Keith, Jaquie has temporarily cleared her concert schedule to complete her latest CD. Watch her website (referenced in the author’s profile box below) for when she releases her CD and starts performing again. You won’t want to miss her.

You may also watch Jaquie play and hear snippets of songs from her previous three CDs on her website.

See you at Jaquie’s next concert!