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Biography
Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Tim
Sparks started picking out tunes by ear on
an old Stella flat top during a bout of
encephalitis that kept him out of school
for a year. He taught himself to play the
music he heard around him: traditional
country blues and the gospel his
grandmother played on piano in a small
church in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
 At
age 14, Tim was nominated by a musically
astute uncle for a scholarship at the
prestigious North Carolina School of the
Arts. There he studied the classics with
Segovia protege Jesus Silva while
continuing to play all kinds of music,
increasingly turning to classic jazz for
inspiration. He adapted compositions by
Jelly Roll Morton, Scott Joplin, and Fats
Waller to the guitar, frequently reducing
piano arrangements to their essence. Early
influences were Doc Watson, Arthur Smith,
and most importantly Duck Baker, who
opened up a horizon of possibilities for
fingerstyle guitar.
After a stint on the road with a
Chicago-based rhythm and blues band,
Sparks arrived in Minnesota where he soon
established himself as a journeyman
guitarist and session player. While
recording three albums with the seminal
vocal jazz ensemble Rio Nido, Sparks also
became proficient in jazz styles from
Brazilian to Be Bop. It was at this time
he arranged Carla Bley's composition
"Jesus Maria" for Leo Kottke. ( Rio Nido's
first two vinyl recordings have recently
been re-issued on CD on the Japanese Vivid
Sound Label.
Sparks also found time to revive his
interest in classical music, adapting
Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite to the
guitar, a work that has been cited as a
significant contribution to solo guitar
literature. For Sparks it was a labor of
love that earned him the National
Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in
Winfield, Kansas in 1993.
 A
sojourn abroad inspired his interest in
European and Mediterranean styles,
particularly the music of the Balkans.
Upon his return to Minnesota, Sparks
immersed himself in the ethnic music
scene, performing on Oud and Saz in Middle
Eastern ensembles and playing guitar in
Greek, Klezmer, and Sephardic groups. This
work culminated in the recording of
Sparks' Balkan Dreams Suite, a
remarkable collection of odd-meter guitar
arrangements. Many of the Balkan Dreams
compositions were recorded on Tim's debut
solo CD, The Nutcracker Suite, in
1993. This recording was hailed by Guitar
Player Magazine as "an exhilarating,
odd-meter minefield inspired by Near
Eastern music" and "an important recording
from a gifted composer, arranger, and
performer." Two more releases followed on
the Acoustic Music label, Guitar
Bazaar (1997) and One String Leads
To Another (1999).
Sparks' work came to the attention of John
Zorn, the saxophonist, composer, and
curator of Tzadik Records in New York and
thereby led to a new cycle of compositions
inspired by traditional Jewish melodies.
Neshamah (1999) is a solo effort.
Tanz, which garnered Downbeat
Magazine's highest praise, five stars, in
2000 and At the Rebbe's Table
(2002) include ensemble work. All three
releases have been acclaimed by a broad
spectrum of critics and listeners alike.
Spring of 2003 saw the release of
Masada Guitars, featuring
interpretations of John Zorn's music by
Tim, Bill Frisell, and Marc Ribot. In
recent years, Sparks' musical focus has
come full circle, returning to the country
blues and classic jazz that served as a
springboard for his worldwide guitar
explorations. He toured with Dolly Parton
in 2005 and recorded Roots, Rags and
Blues for Truefire/Acoustic Guitar
Workshop.
Sparks released Sidewalk Blues on
the Tonewood label in February 2009 and
recorded Little Princess, his fifth
CD for Tzadik, in New York City on
February 19, 2009.
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Berlin Morning Post - "Sparks shows
his tremendous versatility moving
between jazz
and the classics."
Dirty Linen Magazine - "A major
contribution to the world of guitar
transcriptions...Sparks
is an extraordinary
guitarist"
Guitar Player Magazine - "Fresh,
exotic, and totally cool."
Acoustic Guitar Magazine - "Sparks'
musical goulash is spiced with
Celtic, blues,
and jazz flavors for
a truly
unique work. The
effect is exotic, rich,
and
sensuous."
"You can hear Tim Sparks think. He plays
by choice not habit: ideas not licks. I've
heard him do this on guitars so badly
intonated, they wouldn't make a good
ashtray; the same guitars - I remember a
piece called "Blues on Bartok Street" -
are guitars in Tim's hands.
Beautiful. I'm Tim Sparks' biggest fan.
His stuff is very difficult to play but it
doesn't sound difficult. I think that's
real musicianship. He's really one of the
best musicians I know." - Leo
Kottke
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