As much as any other artist, Leo Kottke has defined the role of the contemporary acoustic guitarist as self-styled virtuoso, amassing a huge worldwide following in the process. Ever since his 1969 debut, 6- and 12-String Guitar, on John Fahey's indie Takoma label, Kottke has blazed a singular stylistic path that continues to diverge from mainstream guitar music. Classical precision, pop melodicism, jazz fluency, bluesy fundamentalism, rubbery, syncopated rhythms, and quasi-literary motifs all vie for supremacy in his turbo-folk compositions.
Add to Kottke's finger-orchestra virtuosity a droll perspective on life that puts a tilt on his material, and you get both an inspiring and entertaining performer who keeps concert audiences highly amused. He continues to be a prolific touring performer, and has also collaborated on recording projects with fellow musical adventurer, bassist Mike Gordon (Phish). The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music thought enough of Kottke's body of work to include it in the school's guitar studies curriculum. Guitar Player magazine named him to its Hall of Fame.
Kottke's introduction to Taylor guitars began in the late 1980s, when an easy-playing Taylor mahogany 555 lured him back to the 12-string after years of hand problems that had limited him to playing solely 6-string. In quintessential Kottke fashion, he christened it by using a pocket knife to whittle down the braces. When Bob Taylor later got wind of Leo's tinkering, he gave him a call, and the two hit it off.
"One of the things that sold me on the idea of working with Bob and trying this 12-string was that Bob is the first person I’d run into who can talk as long as I can about guitars," Leo would later say. "I wanted less wood than is common for a 12-string. I also wanted it built to be tuned down, instead of up to pitch... I think the real virtue of the 12-string is that it can just explode out of the bottom. So that’s what we aimed for."