An American Original
Acoustic or electric, there has been a guitar making original music in the hands of John Greenaway for over four decades. And throughout this rich period of American music, John Greenaway remains objectively among the most versatile and accomplished guitarists of his generation.
John's earliest influences were rock pop and folk. He was among the trailblazing musicians in the 60's and early 70's who explored and mastered these genres and mingled them in a "Big Bang" of innovation that still shapes much of the popular music cosmos today.
Playing rock in the 60's meant delving into the rock & roll of the 50's, which inescapably meant digging deeper to mine the blues, the motherlode of American music. Playing folk meant flirting with classical and giving in to the seduction of country. Playing and writing pop meant expanding in new directions and assimilating the rhythms of jazz and latin. As a guitarist, song writer, and leader of bands from the 60's to the present, John Greenaway learned the conventions, broke the molds, and set his own standards. His gift for improvisation is impressive, and his range is nothing short of breathtaking. He can astonish the listener with a smoking blues riff, enchant the ear with a Gaelic ballad and jump-start the most jaded audience with a pure country romp.
John Greenaway is an American original, and every time he plays, we are reminded of the many places American music has been, and everywhere it can go.
Garry Herzog, Managing Editor
The Madison Eagle, The Chatham Courier, The Florham Park Eagle
