Kenn Harris grew up in the ‘50s & ‘60s in the golden age of folk and transitions of folk/rock to rock’n roll and soaked it all up. He has been a lifelong musician who is predominantly self taught. Although primarily noted in the past as an solo acoustic finger-style guitarist, he has branched out to other instrumentation, and endeavors… production, arrangement, keys, mandolin, mandola, harmonica, light percussion, sound recordings, photography, music videos.

“I can remember from the earliest age playing a toy harmonica banging on drums, cymbals, trying to play a violin, and my dear grandma trying to teach me how to use 2 hands on an old upright piano how to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… I never really got that… and to this day still can not… but years later it opened the door to being able to play, piano by ear, and compose on piano… “

“At age 11, I started teaching myself how to play a very beat up old guitar. At age 14 to 15 I took some classical lessons, from Leonid Bolotine, who helped me obtain a handmade guitar that Segovia, a tone hero, had played… I hated the lessons at the time, but I learned how to read music a little and mostly how to ergonomically use. my left hand, and how to play finger-style with classical techniques with my right hand, that was not appreciated at all at the time. It was only when I went off to college in Tucson, and realized that I could use what I had learned on nylon strings to play on steel strings. This extra knowledge in my toolbox allowed me to be able to play some of the finger-style pieces or articulation of Jackson Brown, James Taylor Dave Von Ronk Tom Rush, Simon & Garfunkel, etc and to attempt trying to play Delta-like blues and flamenco/Spanish style guitar playing.

At age 14 I bought my 0017 small body mahogany Martin for $100 in rolls of quarters from my paper route from Noah Wolfe in the music district in NYC across from Manny’s. I didn’t have enough for a case so he gave me a padded paper bag to take it home. Over the years, I never gave up on practicing playing and learning.

I went to the 1968 Newport Folk Festival, sat in a song circle lead by Pete Seeger, Taj Mahal on Resophonic steel, Elizabeth Cotton singing “Freight Train” and in the evening Buddy Guy, Taj with full band, and show stopper Janice Joplin. and then Woodstock in 1969.

Johnny Smith was an avid pilot and flew from his home in Colorado Springs to Tucson where he did a workshop at a local guitar shop… This is a photo from the 1970’s.

He was one of the most accomplished musicians and a very humble nice person. There are several YouTube Videos of his playing style, and interviews. Theres some lessons from a guitarist who did his masters degree on Johnny Smith’s approach to guitar.

He taught me that it was always important to keep a meaningful bass line going on throughout the cord or lead solos and I have internalized that lesson.

About a decade later I took some jazz ballad lessions from a great teacher and person, Bob Browne in Albuquerque, New Mexico and thru that experience was later, back in Arizona able to start composing my own Fingerstyle Solo Acoustic songs that led to 3 albums over another decade and a half, and still informs my approach to working on Singer-Songwriter material, intros, instrumental solos, and codas are all related to these concepts.

He wrote “Walk Don’t Run” in a Jazz trio mode, that became a huge success for the Ventures.

There are many more things to share about him, but much exists on line. He was a musician’s musician, played with Toscanini in the NBC orchestra etc…

His slow jazz chord solos are my favorite… Girl with the Flaxen Hair etc. My albums were stolen on a move back to Arizona from New Mexico… My son would call me from College in Boston if he found any old record shop LPs… “yes send them to me… “

I thanked him in a letter and sent him my Song’s From the Hacienda Album and a few months later he called me… and I floated on air for an entire summer. He was a really wonderful man, and along with Segovia, my tone heroes for Jazz and Classical Guitar.

I took Jazz Ballad sessions at age 30 in New Mexico. from Bob Brown, for a couple of years, every othere week. Bob was a wonderful teacher and human being… My wife and I would go to a club on the west side of Albuquerque to see and hear his jazz band play… At a guitar clinic that Bob had organized for Tommy Tedesco, (of the LA WRECKING CREW) Tommy asked for a few volunteers to come up, as he wanted to see who could improvise on the spot in real time as he read a poem in front of a few hundred guitar players. So… I got to freestyle play, his guitar while Tommy dramatically read the poem poem… I think 3 of us participated one shredded a lot, another played without much attention to the reading… whereas I created a tonal finger-style composition to go along with the meter and theme of poem, with a consensus that I my improvisation was the best… a totally wonderful experience to have my teacher smiling at me in that way, with knowledge that his student did well so… that's how a 30 something kid in Albuquerque I got to accompany the guitarist for the LA Wrecking Crew… Some of the things I learned from Tommy I stiil use today… RIP Tommy Tedesco and Bob Brown YOU ARE REMEMBERED with great admiration Thank YOU

After learning how to play better and to find the songs within the chords and after playing everyone else’s songs for my first 25 years (age 11 to age of mid thirties) I set a goal of trying to create my own music, over the course of a year, that then was recorded by Joe Corao, on reel to reel and released on a cassette,(remember those?) “The Year of the TIger”followed by my full CDs over the following decades. “Songs from the Hacienda” & Amadeo.

I produced a Breast Cancer Benefit Album, for the Komen organization.

Afterwards, at the recommendation of my friend from C4 days in Cave Creek, Gus Brett, (check his “Orphan of Love” Album, songs Closeness & Trust is Coming Home… I connected Rachel Harris/ cellist for the benefit album for Trust is Coming Home, but all other was pure Gusmo) so… I took voice lessons from Vanessa Purdy with a goal of getting my voice up to 1/2 of my guitar playing. She unlocked my voice, and I am forever grateful for the lessons… Vanessa has been a senior level teacher in the Seth RIggs Speech Level Singing system (see wikipedia) etc… for his student list… no allusions here, but my way of saying Vanessa is “the best”) The fact that my teacher thinks my voice is beautiful… is amazing!

I have written tons of songs over the years, and finally got to record my first solo Singer/Songwriter Album, “Desert Stories.” My Kids gave me a birthday present of 25 hrs of recording time in Odie’s Abcat Studio…

I have many albums “to go before I sleep.”

See reviews of guitar albums on the review pasge and discography on the music page.

The Gallery page has information and photos of performance times/places, collaborations…

Techy construction thing here I can’t cut the space out from this section to the next TY SqSpace below is in the southern hemisphere… scroll safely

His first singer/songwriter album

DESERT STORIES was recorded and mastered from July thru November 2023 & is now available on the usual platforms

This is my 1950 Gibson small body, carved archtop with mahogany flat back, that I found in Albuquerque, New Mexico and traded in a 3/4 small size Fender, and a Silvertone/Danlectro Amp Case (wish I still had both) and paid Mr. Romero on time for a year, New Mexico in 1979 and is featured on his new Desert Stories album. It is an amazing instrument, with great action and feel, that can respond to the lightest touch but also take, slamming without a buzz, the neck is very thick and solid, and this plus the carved spruce top, helps create the sweetest overtones and balance for finger-style technique. I use Elixir Phosphor Bronze 10s and am so thankful for the luthiers who attended to it along there way… in the 1990’s George Leach, Phoenix Guitar Company who moved to California, and in 2022 Tim Mulqueeny, Atomic Guitar Works, in Peoria Az, for all their expert help in keeping this instrument playable.

Another Luthier to mention, who has worked on several of my other vintage instruments is Phil Clark, of Steadfast, in Phoenix.

Otis Francis, ‘Odie’ at ABCAT recorded and mastered the Album.

ALL THE ABOVE ie George, Tim, Phil and Odie are considered magicians; for without them I can’t play/or record etc :)