Derek Gripper – Lincoln Center Rubenstein Atrium – June 22, 2017
Solo guitarist (nylon strings) Gripper is South African, and has dedicated himself to showcasing both folk songs of his country (continent, actually) and works by its modern composers. Some of the latter need to be transposed from original instrumentation into guitar, a whole other can of worms – he seems to have staked out this unique turf to follow wherever it leads, and to my ears he does ’em justice. He’s also assimilated plenty from the standard classical canon, blowing the socks off some Bach (who composed not a note for guitar).
Derek Gripper