BIOGRAPHY

The unlikely partnership between acoustic guitar pioneer Leo Kottke and Phish bassist Mike Gordon continues with the long-awaited Noon, their first new album in 15 years. Couching late-night melancholy in a summer lilt, Noon features 11 tracks of warmly askew songs and intricate playing -- and the intimate third voice created by Kottke and Gordon, two of the most accomplished and idiosyncratic instrumentalists in American music. As creative as it is dextrous, under other circumstances, Noon might be hailed as a breakthrough third album from a young band.

The return of an American guitar legend, Noon marks Leo Kottke’s first studio record since his last collaboration with Gordon, 2005’s 66 Steps, though he’s continued to tour constantly. Beginning his career on John Fahey’s Takoma label in 1969, Kottke virtually invented his own school of playing with his distinct, propulsive fingerstyle. [FULL BIO]