Bill Mize

... An amazing touch, killer tone and a sense of taste that can't be beat." -Vintage Guitar Magazine
Biography:
1952 - Born in East Tennessee
1955 - Totaled his first car (Buick) at age three....
1956 - Saw Elvis on TV... took up the ukelele.
1961 - Took up sister's Stella guitar after his ukelele was smashed over his behind by his father...
1985 - Won the Winfield National Guitar Championship on a Japanese Martin copy guitar, with bar-b-q sauce on his fingers...
1995 - Found out about his GRAMMY award while in a cheap motel room in Utah.
He isn't your typical fingerstyle guitar hero.
Applauded by critics and guitar enthusiasts alike for his composition, tone, emotion and smooth "multi-part" style, Tennessee guitarist Bill Mize is a past winner of The National Finger- style Guitar Competition at The Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. Guitar Player Magazine has labeled this event the “U.S. Open of guitar competitions.
Bill recieved a Grammy Award for his collaboration with David Holt on the recording Stellaluna, as well as being featured on the popular guitar compilations Windham Hill Guitar Sampler by Windham Hill Records and Masters of the Acoustic Guitar by Narada Records. John August Music/Mel Bay Productions have transcribed Mize's second cd, Tender Explorations, into a songbook.
Bill is a frequent clinician / performer at guitar festivals including the Healdsburg Guitar Festival in California, The Newport Guitar Festival in RI, Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina, and Steve Kaufmann's Guitar Camp in Tennessee. His original music is difficult to peg, but has been described as varying from delicate appalachian highland melodies to greasy Memphis grooves.
"Dale Miller of Acoustic Guitar Magazine writes"...Mize's tone is lovely and his technique is state-of-the-art. He combines form and substance to create music so sublime and accessible I was almost sighing out loud. .....
Stephen Ide of Dirty Linen Magazine writes "... To call Mize guitar maestro would be understating his ability to transport listeners beyond what most guitarists can only hope to accomplish." .....
Bill Milkowski of Jazziz Magazine writes "... Mize's touch is magic. His ideas flow in rapid succession throughout this acoustic guitar showcase. “ .....
Besides the Windham Hill and Narada recordings, Bill has four independent releases available, Sugarlands, Tender Explorations, Coastin' and his recently released Joyful Noise, described by Vintage Guitar Magazine as “ ten songs of pure joy”.
Performing with Bill is Beth Bramhall, an accordionist, pianist and composer from Missoula, Montana. Aaron Bragg of the Local Planet writes... “with the addition of Bramhall on accordion, Mize’s style takes on an even more sublime sound. That’s right: “sublime” and “accordion” in the same sentence...” . www.billmize.com