Lee Westwood profile picture

Lee Westwood

NEW ALBUM DUE FOR RELEASE JUNE 2008

About Me

Born in January 1982, Lee Westwood is a composer and fingerstyle guitarist based in Brighton, UK. He writes music predominantly for solo guitar, but also for other instruments such as flute, cello and voice. His music draws influence from the worlds of Folk, Jazz and Classical, being very diverse, yet maintaining a sound particular to himself. Recent live shows include The Chapel Royal, 93 Feet East, Sidmouth Folk Festival, the Lewes Guitar Festival, Crawley Folk Festival, Small World Festival, One World Festival, Off The Tracks Festival, opening performances for Waterson Carthy, Pierre Bensusan, Nick Harper, Gavin Moore, Joe West and Julian Dawson, radio appearances for BBC Southern Counties, Juice FM, Soundwave Radio, Radio Reverb, Radio 4A, Resonance FM, Radio Asturias, Radio Nacional De Espana and Onda Cero, plus three Spanish tours including dates in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, A Coruna, San Sebastian, Oviedo, Aviles and Gijon. Lee's compositions were also performed by award-winning guitarist Gerard Mapstone in Tyalgum Classical Music Festival, Australia. In 2006, Guitarist magazine published an interview with Lee Westwood (see Album Reviews Blog). Other articles in the last year include Guitar & Bass magazine, Guitarra Total, Acoustic magazine, Rocks magazine, and online review sites such as Minor 7th and Bridge Guitar Reviews. In 2006 Lee also appeared on Cuatrosfera, a Spanish national television program. The album 'To Sleep' is now available, featuring the flute of Philippe Barnes, and all original artwork by Adam Oehlers (you can see some of this in the player at the top, and on the photos page - also see top 24 friends). Tours are currently being set up around Europe to promote the CD. Two new albums are underway, and are due to be released by the end of the year - one album of compositions for solo guitar, and one of duos for flute and guitar. Keep watching this site for more details. Lee is available for tuition, performances and transcriptions. You can find music samples from this site or www.lee-westwood.com, both in audio format, and in notation/tablature. If it leaves you thirsty for more, pick up a copy of the CD here (see BUY NOW button to left), or online at www.lee-westwood.com. All pieces are available in notation/tablature. Aside of the guitar, Lee also plays percussion, hammered dulcimer and flute. MyGen Profile Generator MyGen Profile Generator

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 4/13/2006
Band Website: lee-westwood.com
Influences: NEW ALBUM 'NYMPH SUITE & OTHER STORIES' DUE FOR RELEASE JUNE 2008My influences are very broad, but most certainly include Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, Rachmaninov, Pierre Bensusan, Ralph Towner, Tommy Emmanuel, John Fahey, Django Reinhardt, Paco De Lucia, Gerardo Nunez, Paulo Bellinati, Isaac Albeniz, Makam, Kolinda, Talisman, Balogh Kalman, Taraf De Haidouks, Kali Jag, Ion Petre Stoican, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Slint, King Crimson, Tool, Alice In Chains, Helmet, Meshuggah, Blind Melon, early Smashing Pumpkins, Guns n' Roses, Nirvana, Queen, Don Cabalero, Rumah Sakit, Bjork, James Orr Complex, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Nick Drake, Billy Holiday, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Wes Montgomery, John Coltrane, Art Tatum, Dave Brubeck, God Speed You Black Emperor, Steve Reich, Nick Bartch, Stefan Micus, Astor Piazzolla, music of the Gypsies from all around the world, dark cinema, lushious artwork, epic literature, science, philosophy, theology, the whole spectrum of human emotion and lifelong experience, the world and all it is surrounded by (sorry if i missed anything out).
Sounds Like: DEBUT ALBUM 'TO SLEEP' AVAILABLE NOW"...an emerging acoustic instrumentalist with blazing technique, ensuring the fingerpicking tradition remains in safe hands." - Owen Bailey, Guitarist Magazine 2006."...a brilliantly talented young artist, with a broad palette of styles mixed seamlessly together on this album...anyone with an appreciation for the fusion of ideas should love ‘To Sleep’.” – Sam Wise, Acoustic Magazine 2006"...he'll be a name to know in the future if he keeps this up: remember you heard it here first!" - Guitar & Bass" A breath of fresh air, indispensable..." - J.V, Guitarra Total 2007"Westwood is prodigiously talented and able to create musical landscapes that are abstract, yet always energetic." - Patrick Regains, Minor 7th 2006."...an astonishing acoustic guitar talent, Lee Westwood presents his very own approach to music. Lee surely impresses as a guitar player and composer, as well as with his new album 'To Sleep'. Check him out!" - Henk de Veldhuis, Bridge Guitar Reviews 2006."Thank goodness for Lee Westwood, whose 'To Sleep (Farewell Songs)' will have guitar players giving up in despair and the rest of us delighted. Very rarely is technical wizardry on an instrument used to say something that otherwise could not be said. Lee manages that and it's a pleasure to hear. One man, an acoustic and (apparently) four hundred thousand fingers." - Giles Duffy, Rocks Magazine 2006.
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Artwork for album To Sleep by Adam Oehlers

In 2006 I commissioned the artist Adam Oehlers to do the illustrations for my album To Sleep. There are 12 pieces, one for each track, and one additional piece as the cover. Formerly a resident of Ade...
Posted by Lee Westwood on Thu, 11 May 2006 06:13:00 PST

New album

The new album 'Nymph Suite & Other Stories' is due for release June 2008. Featuring a range of works from solo to ensemble pieces, the album was recorded live in the crypt of Lancing Chapel in Jan...
Posted by Lee Westwood on Tue, 18 Jul 2006 04:05:00 PST

Album Reviews - To Sleep

    "When listening to music, if you're anything like myself, you create a picture of the artist in your minda mental representation of presence, of posture, of detail of the moment. F...
Posted by Lee Westwood on Fri, 13 Oct 2006 05:06:00 PST

Visit www.lee-westwood.com

Come and visit the new Lee Westwood site, full of music samples, reviews, transcriptions, photos, artwork, gig lists, and more, at www.lee-westwood.com. From this site it is also possible to buy sheet...
Posted by Lee Westwood on Sat, 19 Aug 2006 02:41:00 PST