The
unassuming
guru of guitar, Ross Williams celebrates over 50
years in the Australian music industry this year.
He began playing professionally at 17 and toured
with some of Australia's legendary artists
throughout the '70s and early '80s. He moved on to
work as a sound engineer, producer and A&R
Director for a major international record company.
He repeatedly toured the world representing some of
Australia's finest recording acts. After a nine year
break while concentrating on professional audio and
film & television production, Ross again devoted
himself solely to his guitar and songwriting.
Teaming with American-born blues harmonica player Doc
Span in
1990, the pair enjoyed success and won numerous
awards in performance and recording. Together these
traveling bluesmen performed at almost every major
festival in Australia and work regularly up and down
Australia's East coast.
Ross'
masterful
command of both his instrument and the stage are
clearly a result of vast industry experience. His
understanding of the blues spans decades and his
sensitive and soulful guitar work offers a faultless
fusion of swamp, blues and jazz, capturing the exact
nuance with surprising accuracy. Whether it's the
intricate, acoustic finger-picking of a country
blues and ragtime tune or a slashing Texas shuffle
on electric guitar, Ross conjures an exciting
atmosphere with his boundary-crossing style and
melodic voice. He plays with the effortless grace of
a seasoned pro.
Born
and raised in Melbourne, Ross has toured this
country extensively and lived in every state of
Australia, finally settling in Queensland in
1986. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Guitar
from the Queensland Conservatorium and
commenced a career in music education in 2001. Ross
was employed as a full-time lecturer in Popular
Music at the Queensland
Conservatorium's Bachelor
of Popular Music
programme based at Griffith University's Gold Coast
campus until his retirement in December 2017.
He
appears live regularly and is
currently playing lead guitar in popular South-East
Queensland band The Smoking
Crawdads and has recently joined The Andy Cowan
Band. Ross
plays Takamine, Fender and Gibson guitars powered by
Fender and Marshall amplification.
