Donald James Ross, or Don Ross, (born November 19, 1960) is a Canadian

fingerstyle guitar Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plectr ...

ist. He is the only person to win the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship twice (1988 and 1996). His album '' Huron Street'' reached the top ten on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' New-age chart.

Biography

Ross was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec to Scottish and

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

parents. He studied composition at the music department of

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in Toronto with

David Mott David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

James Tenney James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microtonal ...

and Phil Werren. After receiving his

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of presc ...

in 1983, he studied philosophy at St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Granby,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

while living at San Damiano Friary in Holyoke, Massachusetts and then started his novitiate for the Canadian custody of the

Conventual Franciscans The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

of Immaculate Conception Province at St. Francis Friary in Staten Island, NY. He decided to leave that pursuit and become a musician. In 1986 Ross produced and published his first album, ''Kehewin'', on cassette, and became a full-time musician. He performed as a duo with his wife, singer

Kelly McGowan Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadia ...

, in 1986 and 1987, and then in a trio called ''Harbord Trio'' with her and violinist

Oliver Schroer Oliver Schroer (June 18, 1956 – July 3, 2008) was a Canadian fiddler, composer, and music producer. Early life Oliver Schroer grew up in Vandeleur, Ontario, a small farming community near Markdale in rural Grey County. He attended Grey Highl ...

. At the same time he was member of a

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

jazz

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

called ''Eye Music''. He composed music for several theatre productions in Toronto dealing with

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

life in Canada, such as ''The Ecstasy of Rita Joe'' (York University, 1989), ''Dreaming Beauty'' (Inner Stage Theatre, 1990) and ''Big Buck City'' (Cahoots Theatre, 1991). He has also composed music for the CBC radio serial ''Dead Dog Café''. In 1987 some of his compositions were played by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.''Native Guitarist Wins International Award'', Article in ''Saskatchewan Indian'', December 1988
. Accessed on November 10, 2007 His first place win, after two previous attempts, in the 1988 American

Walnut Valley Festival The Walnut Valley Festival is an acoustic music festival held annually in Winfield, Kansas, United States. The main genre of music is bluegrass, but a wide variety of other acoustic styles are represented. The festival is held on the Wednesday ...

earned him a contract with Duke Street Records, Toronto, where he published his next two albums, 1989's ''Bearing Straight'' and 1990's ''Don Ross''. Since then he has released several mostly instrumental CDs, though some of them feature him as a singer. He published three instructional videos, several single transcriptions and a book with nine of his pieces, and worked with the magazine ''Canadian Musician''. At the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals he won a prize with his wife Kelly, and in 1996 he won his second first prize at the Walnut Valley Festival. Since 1997 he guides the ''Don Ross Cannington Guitar Weekend'', a guitar

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

. In 2001 his first wife Kelly McGowan died, and Ross was left with his kids. In 2005 he married Brooke Miller, a singer-songwriter from

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

. Don Ross was the first artist to sign with

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

record label

Candyrat Records CandyRat Records (also stylized as CANdYRAT) is an independent American record label and online music store located in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. They primarily represent instrumental guitar artists, with a focus on acoustic guitar, but include ...

, in 2005. The label's roster includes

Andy McKee Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979, in Topeka, Kansas) is an American fingerstyle guitar player who has released six studio albums, two extended plays, and one live album to date. A number of YouTube videos featuring McKee's highly-technical guitar ...

Nicholas Barron Nicholas Barron is an American folk music, blues guitarist and singer-songwriter based in evanston, Illinois, United States. Born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Barron soon moved to Columbia, Missouri and then Marblehead, Massachusetts, where he ...

Antoine Dufour Antoine Dufour (born 1979, in L'Épiphanie, Quebec) is a French-Canadian acoustic guitarist currently signed to CandyRat Records. Dufour started playing guitar at the age of fifteen. He went on to study at the CEGEP in Joliette, where he list ...

The Reign of Kindo The Reign of Kindo is an American Rock music, rock band originating from Buffalo, New York, currently based out of New York City. They produce and release their music independently. They finance the creation of their recordings and videos by wri ...

, and his own wife Brooke Miller. Ross has done three tours with the Men of Steel guitar group, the last of which was mounted in 2006. The band is a mix of international members including bluegrass maestro

Dan Crary Dan Crary ''(aka Deacon Dan Crary)'' was born September 29, 1939 in Kansas City, Kansas and is an American bluegrass guitarist. He helped re-establish flatpicked guitar as a prominent soloing bluegrass instrument. Crary is an innovator of the flat ...

, acoustic guitarist

Beppe Gambetta Beppe Gambetta (born 1955) is an Italian acoustic guitarist and singer. A native of Genoa, he is a composer, teacher, author, and researcher of traditional music and instruments. Music career In 1977, Gambetta founded Red Wine, an Italian blue ...

, and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

guitarist Tony McManus. Ross performs most of his concerts solo, but has also regularly performed with Andy McKee, Brooke Miller, and bassist Jordan O'Connor. In 2010–2011 Ross was a

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

professor teaching history of guitar and techniques, while still travelling extensively for music. He did not renew his contract for the following year due to high demand for concert appearances around the world. In 2012, Ross moved back to his hometown of

, Quebec. Ross is currently residing near

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in 1 ...

Style and technique

Ross's music borrows from

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and classical music creating a style that he describes as "heavy wood". Ross names

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, po ...

John Renbourn John Renbourn (8 August 1944 – 26 March 2015) was an English guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo care ...

Pierre Bensusan Pierre Bensusan (born 30 October 1957) is a French-Algerian acoustic guitarist. As Sephardic Jews, his family came from Spain, Spanish Morocco, and French Algeria. His music has been characterized as Celtic music, Celtic, folk music, folk, world ...

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a ...

Egberto Gismonti Egberto Amin Gismonti (born December 5, 1947) is a Brazilian composer, guitarist and pianist. Biography Gismonti was born in the small city of Carmo, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, into a musical family. His mother was from Sicily and his ...

and

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

as his main sources of inspiration.'' ''In Tune''. Guitar with Don Ross
Accessed on November 10, 2007. One of his songs, "Michael, Michael, Michael", is dedicated to

Michael Hedges Michael Alden Hedges (December 31, 1953 – December 2, 1997) was an American acoustic guitarist and songwriter. Early years The son of Thayne Alden Hedges and Ruth Evelyn Hedges Ipsen, Michael Hedges was born in Sacramento, California. His l ...

, and Ross has performed straight covers of his compositions.Don Ross covers Aerial Boundaries by Michael Hedges
– YouTube video, accessed May 26, 2010. One obvious but unattributed influence is the psychedelic 1967 track 'Embryonic Journey' by

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

. Ross's advanced technique and his sure feeling for rhythm combine with uncommon ideas to make his style instantly recognizable. He often uses percussive techniques and plays intricate down and upstroke patterns with his thumb. These techniques have found their way into the toolboxes of many competitive

fingerstyle Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of guitar picking, playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with ...

guitarists. His use of

acrylic nails Artificial nails, also known as fake nails, false nails, acrylic nails, nail extensions or nail enhancements, are extensions placed over fingernails as fashion accessories. Many artificial nail designs attempt to mimic the appearance of real f ...

allows him to get a consistent, clean tone without the hassle of broken fingernails. Don Ross played a Lowden S-10 in the beginning of his career, but since 1997 has played a Lowden O-10. Today he plays custom-made guitars by Marc Beneteau, a Canadian

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

from St. Thomas, Ontario. The Beneteaus are equipped with a combination of microphone and K&K pickups. Occasionally he plays a

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...

and a

harp guitar The harp guitar is a guitar-based stringed instrument generally defined as a "guitar, in any of its accepted forms, with any number of additional unstopped strings that can accommodate individual plucking." The word "harp" is used in reference to ...

by Marc Beneteau, or uses a custom 7-string by Oskar Graf, a luthier from Clarendon, Ontario. In the liner notes to Ross' 2003 album ''Robot Monster'',

writes, "Nobody does what Don Ross does with an acoustic guitar. He takes the corners so fast you think he's going to roll, but he never loses control."

Discography

Solo or duo

* 1989: '' Bearing Straight'', ( Duke Street) * 1990: '' Don Ross'', (Duke Street) * 1992: '' Three Hands'', (Duke Street) * 1995: '' This Dragon Won't Sleep'', (

Sony Canada Sony Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, of Tokyo, Japan. Sony provides products that include Blu-ray players, BRAVIA televisions, Cyl digital cameras, Handycam Camcorders, VAIO computers, broadcast cameras, IPELA securit ...

) * 1996: '' Wintertide'', (Sony Canada) * 1997: ''

Loaded, Leather, Moonroof ''Loaded, Leather, Moonroof'' is an album by Canadian guitarist Don Ross, released in 1997. Ross plays 6 and 7-string guitar and dobro on this release. Track listing All songs by Don Ross except as noted. # "Loaded, Leather, Moonroof" # "Meanw ...

'', (Sony Canada) * 1999: ''

Passion Session ''Passion Session'' is the seventh album by Canadian guitarist Don Ross and his first on the Narada/Virgin label. It was recorded in Berlin, Germany in the confines of the Passionskirche (The Church of the Passion) in Berlin's Kreuzberg ...

'', (

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

) * 2001: '' Huron Street'', (Narada) * 2003: ''

Robot Monster ''Robot Monster'' (or ''Monster from Mars'')

'', (Narada) * 2005: '' Music for Vacuuming'', ( CandyRat) * 2006: ''Men of Steel - Four Way Mirror'', (Goby Fish) * 2006: ''Live in Your Head'', (Goby Fish) * 2007: ''Wave From Your Window'', (Goby Fish) * 2008: ''The Thing That Came from Somewhere'', with Andy McKee (CandyRat) * 2009: ''Any Colour'', (Goby Fish) * 2010: ''Breakfast for Dogs'', (CandyRat) * 2012: ''Upright and Locked Position'', (CandyRat) * 2013: ''12:34'', with Calum Graham (CandyRat) * 2014: ''PS15'', (CandyRat) * 2014: ''Flake'', (CandyRat) * 2017: ''A Million Brazilian Civilians'', (CandyRat)

Groups

* 1990: ''Circle of Stone'', by Harbord Trio (Don Ross/Kelly McGowan/

) (Familiar Music) * 2003: ''Live: The Art of the Steel-String Guitar'', by Men of Steel (Don Ross/

/ Tony McManus), (Thunderation) * 2006: ''Four Way Mirror'', by Men of Steel (Don Ross/Beppe Gambetta/Dan Crary/Tony McManus), (Goby Fish) * 2019: ''Don Ross Louder Than Usual'', with Andrew Craig on keyboards, Jordan O’Connor on bass, Marito Marques on drums, and Don Ross on guitar and vocals (G.F.M)

DVDs

* 2004: ''Don Ross: Live'', (CandyRat) * 2006: ''Don Ross/Andy McKee/Michael Manring: Live in Toronto'', (CandyRat)

References

;Citations ;Further reading
Don Ross Biography by Betty Nygaard King
Accessed on November 10, 2007.