Thursday, May 15, 2008

Kenny Hill Plays San Francisco

Kenny Hill in concert
With Teja Gerken and Mokai

Wednesday, May 28, 7:00PM
Bazaar Cafe

5927 California Street, between 21st & 22nd Avenues
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 831-5620 e-mail:lmw@bazaarcafe.com

Teja Gerken invited Kenny to play at his monthly acoustic guitar showcase at San Francisco's Bazaar Café, which features both established and emerging players. The performance format is a unique "round robin" where the three players are all on stage for the whole show, each playing one or two pieces, then passing on to the next player, and on around. It's a fun way to listen, and should prove to be an interesting evening of diverse guitar playing.

Kenny will be performing on a guitar he made himself, his most current design Stand-up SIGNATURE model.

Music he will play might include some Scarlatti sonatas, music by James Kline, Andrew York, Barrios, Kottke, Albeniz or Hill.
Kenny has been a performing musician since childhood, playing guitar for over 40 years. His unique ability with the guitar as both an accomplished guitar maker and an accomplished guitar player brings a very personal relationship to the music and to the instrument, and his spin on repertoire for the classical guitar is diverse and refreshing.

You can check out and purchase his PILGRIMAGE CD of classical guitar music - international, mostly contemporary, all beautiful and distinctly personal.

About Teja Gerken:

Today, Teja is no stranger to those familiar with contemporary steel-string fingerstyle guitar. Weaving together influences of folk, jazz, classical, and world music into a style that is uniquely his own, Teja's playing reflects his diverse musical interests. While many of his composition employ alternate tunings, two-handed tapping, percussive effects, and other extended guitar techniques, others simply rely on his keen sense of melody and movement. Within this framework, Teja has created a repertoire that appeals to fellow guitarists as well as to listening audiences, and while original material is his main focus, he can also be found playing Irish traditionals, the occasional jazz standard, or improvising on themes by classical composers.

An active participant in the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area acoustic music scene, Teja is a regular performer at many of the region's venues.

About Moki:
Putting a twist on traditional folk and folk blues styles, Mokai accompanies his soulful vocals with powerful grooves and smokin' blues riffs. His show-stopping set has earned him a reputation as a performer who delivers every time.

His propulsive, fingerstyle guitar drives Mokai’s music, colored by elements of jazz and world music. Playful, then moving, his compositions touch both on big themes and intricate details. The deep commitment in his lyrics reflects years on the front lines of seminal political and environmental movements. This is the same dedication he brings to his performances at benefits for non-profits and important causes, as well as in hospitals and shelters with the Bread and Roses series.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Rodriguez Model News

Here's a recent email we received from Rodriguez owner David Norton:

"A very well-known concert performer was in Salt Lake City this weekend for a recital and masterclass. I played in the class, and as I was setting up, he looked at my guitar and said "A Rodriguez. Nice." I played my selection; all went fine. At the end of the session, he asked "What year is your Rodriguez? It sounds wonderful." When I told him it was a Kenny Hill replica, and brand-new at that, he was astounded. "No way! Really? Wow. That's just amazing." He was 100% convinced it was a genuine Rodriguez."

Thanks for sharing, David.

Photo of David Norton's 2008 Rodriguez model. 640mm string length.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Hermann Hauser I Guitar Lute 1921

Here's something new and unusual we've acquired for sale. More photos will be posted in our SHOWROOM this week.

The Hermann Hauser label is difficult to photograph through the rose window, but we've got partials to show it's a Hauser 1 instrument dated 1921.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

New 635mm Torres FE-18 Now Available

Here is the second of three of these small Torres models Kenny has built.

The FE-18 is smaller than our Torres 1856 model. This is an appropriate guitar for the smaller player looking for a high-quality instrument.

The guitar comes with a custom teardrop hard case, and is priced at $3700.

You can see more photos and information about the Torres FE18 model by clicking here.

This guitar is listed in our SHOWROOM, where you can view more detailed and larger photos of the guitar.

The third FE-18 string length is 615mm and will be available in May.

Please contact us for more information on this guitar.


Indian rosewood back and sides
European spruce top
Spanish cedar neck
ebony fingerboard
Gotoh machines
French polish finish
Lightweight truss rod


Overall length: ~36 3/4"
Body length: 17 3/8"
Lower bout: 11 5/8"
Upper bout: 8 5/8"
Body depth: 3 5/8 - 3 3/4"
String length: 635mm
Fingerboard width @ nut: ~50mm

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Announcing: The NEW Hill Tenor Ukulele


Here is our Long Awaited NEW Tenor Model Ukulele!

Handmade here in Ben Lomond, it's an all solid bound Indian rosewood ukulele, Spanish cedar neck, ebony fingerboard, sound ports, Gotoh premium tuning machines, bone nut and saddle, completely French polished by hand.

When you play one of these instruments, you will agree they sound really great, play with ease and make you feel terrific.

To see Tenor Ukulele images larger - click here.

It is a pleasure to introduce the builder of fine these ukuleles, Simon Hill. Simon is, of course, Kenny's oldest son, who has been working with us while going to college. He has been making ukuleles for several years now, and developing this new model with Kenny's guidance.

Inspecting and playing one of his new Tenor ukuleles, I think you'll agree his instruments are truly world class.

Available only through Hill Guitar Company. Presently we have one Tenor available.


Simon Hill - Builder

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Almer Imamovic Signature Video File



















Almer Imamovic Plays Hill Signature Stand up Model featuring a double top: Western red cedar exposed, Nomex and European spruce interior. His guitar is Indian rosewood and has an elevated fingerboard, and sound ports.

We recently received a DVD with a number of selections of Almer solo and AlmaNova; Almer and his flautist partner, Jessica Pierce together.

We will post Almer's 3 selections as audio samples in the Player section of our website:

A. Lauro's Waltz #2 & 3, and Asturias.


Here is Lauro's Waltz #3 if you'd like to listen to it now:

waltz3.mp3

You can see each of the video selections posted at Youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/almerguitar

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Additions to the Showroom




We've added 4 new guitars to the SHOWROOM:

  • Classic Crossover 14 model
  • Torres FE18
  • Brazilian Rosewood Stand Up Signature
  • Brazilian Rosewood Standard Signature
We've got several more to add in the next few days as well, including:
  • Indian Rosewood Standard Signature
  • Brazilian Torres 1856 630mm
  • Brazilian Rosewood Hauser '37 640mm
  • Custom Stand Up Signature