Ralph Towner, an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer, handed away in Rome on January 18, 2026. He was 85.
A founding member of the groundbreaking ensemble, Oregon, Towner’s music is a fusion of jazz, rock, and people influences. In an interview, he listed George Gershwin, John Coltrane, John Dowland, and Invoice Evans amongst his influences. Towner was by no means drawn to the electrical guitar, as a substitute preferring to play acoustic six-string nylon-string and 12-string steel-string guitars. He carried out a number of devices and made use of the recording strategy of overdubbing.
Probably the most distinguished examples of this may be heard on the album Diary, recorded by Towner over two days in April of 1973. Right here is Icarus, the album’s fourth monitor:
