======================================================================
=                           Eric_Tingstad                            =
======================================================================

                            Introduction
======================================================================
Eric Tingstad (born December 16, 1954) is an American record producer,
musician, songwriter and composer. He was born and raised in Seattle,
Washington. Best known as a fingerstyle guitarist, Tingstad has
performed, recorded, and produced alternative country, blues,
americana, rock, smooth jazz, ambient, and New-age music. Tingstad
frequently collaborates with woodwinds player Nancy Rumbel as Tingstad
and Rumbel.


                             Background
======================================================================
Eric Tingstad cites early rock and roll influences such as the
Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and King Crimson. Other influences include The
Kingston Trio, Flatt and Scruggs, pianist and composer Martin Denny,
sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, Mason Williams's "Classical Gas" and the
Hawaiian slack-key guitar.

In the mid 1970s, while playing lead guitar and bass with
Seattle-based rock band Pegasus, Tingstad began studies under masters
of techniques pioneered by Spanish classical guitarist and innovator
Andrés Segovia. Those techniques, combined with innovations of his
own, have shaped Tingstad's stylings and the instrumental compositions
for which he is known. His innovative work inspired Will Ackerman,
founder of Windham Hill Records, to create the Windham Hill Guitar
Sampler series. Tingstad's Prelude from the Bridal Suite is a selected
pick on AllMusic.com from the first Windham Hill Guitar Sampler.

By a vote of his peers, he was honored in October 2006 with the Coyote
Award from Arts Northwest commemorating his leadership, visibility,
and contributions in live performance. He is also known for his
philanthropic and community service work for historical preservation,
land trust, and environmental issues which he has incorporated into
his compositional themes and branding.


                             Recordings
======================================================================
Tingstad's solo recording career began in 1982 with the release of 'On
the Links', eleven original songs in the then-burgeoning New Age
genre. The album appeared on his private label, Cheshire Records,
under which he continues to release albums of his own music and
others.

In 1985, he began a collaboration with woodwinds player Nancy Rumbel.
Their debut album, 'The Gift', an acoustic Christmas collection, was
very well received, selling ten thousand copies in the first ten
weeks. 'The Gift' went on to sell over half a million copies, and
remains a best-selling Christmas album.

In 1987 Tingstad signed a multi-album record contract with Narada
Productions which led to 14 recordings from 1987 to 2004. The catalog
is now owned and distributed worldwide by EMI Capitol. In 1988
Tingstad and Rumbel collaborated with pianist David Lanz to form the
Woodlands trio, which resulted in a best-selling album called
'Woodlands'.

In 1998 the double album, 'American Acoustic' was honored as "Acoustic
Instrumental Album of the Year". It debuted at number one on Adult
Contemporary charts and spent ten weeks on the 'Billboard' radio
charts. In 2000, Tingstad & Rumbel were invited to perform at
Carnegie Hall.

Tingstad won a Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 2003 as artist,
engineer, and producer of Tingstad and Rumbel's, 'Acoustic Garden'.

In 2007 Tingstad recorded 'Southwest', an instrumental album inspired
by the landscapes of the American Southwest region featuring
compositions in the style of what he calls "Ambient-Americana". He
received a Grammy nomination for the recording 'Southwest' recording.

In 2012 he released his instrumental Americana recording 'Badlands',
which includes an appearance by dobro and steel guitarist Cindy
Cashdollar. 'Badlands' continues in the ambient-Americana style,
deriving influence from Native American music, along with country and
roots genres.

On April 21, 2015 Tingstad released another instrumental called
'Mississippi' continuing in the realm of Americana, folk, blues,
country and more with Chris Leighton, Ben Smith and TJ Morris on drums
and percussion, Eric Robert on organ and whirly, and Garey Shelton and
James Clark on bass.


                            Discography
======================================================================
*'On the Links' (1982)
*'Urban Guitar' (1984)
*'The Gift' (1985)
*'Emerald' (1986)
*'Woodlands' (1987)
*'Legends' (1988)
*'Homeland' (1990)
*'In the Garden' (1991)
*'Renewal' (1992)
*'Give and Take' (1993)
*'Star of Wonder' (1994)
*'A Sense of Place' (1995)
*'Pastorale' (1997)
*'American Acoustic' (1998)
*'Music to Brighten Your World' (2000)
*'Paradise' (2000)
*'A Dream and a Wish' (2001)
*'Acoustic Garden' (2002)
*'A Trip Through Tuscany' (2003)
*'Comfort and Joy' (2004)
*'A Moments Peace' (2005)
*'Southwest' (2006)
*'Leap of Faith' (2009)
*'Fortune Smiles (The Halyards)' (2010)
*'Badlands' (2012)
*'Mississippi' (2015)
*'Electric Spirit' (2018)


License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Tingstad