Jack Rose

Many many people were shocked and saddened by yesterday's news. Jack Rose has gone on to the next worlds, carried by his amazing and powerful music.
I didn't know Jack personally, other than having met him a few times at shows. Three years ago, Chris Davis booked a show in my basement with Jack, Fursaxa, The Cherry Blossoms, and myself. It was a pretty special night and personally very significant spiritually for me. The first and only other time I saw Jack live, it was at another show Chris had booked at Springwater. This was about six years ago...At the time I was only dimly cognizant of the solo guitar universe. Obviously I had been trawling through record bins for Takoma titles and what not, but the world of Fahey, Bull, and Basho seemed quite distant, almost like the pre-modern artists that they were channeling originally. Seeing Jack play that night at Springwater was one of those fulcrum moments that the more I look back on it, honestly changed the musical and spiritual path I was personally on. It moved me deeply.
There are many people who had the privilege of being close to Jack and my thoughts are with them right now. As I said before I am simply grateful for being able to see him play and I will continue to cherish his music.