Leo Kottke

Born in Athens, Georgia, in 1945, Leo Kottke grew up in several U.S. states before settling in the Minneapolis area, where he began to gain attention in the late 1960s on the coffeehouse scene. His acoustic guitar playing, primarily on six- and twelve-string instruments, blends folk, blues and jazz in instrumental compositions built on fingerpicking, syncopation and polyphonic melodic lines. After 12-String Blues and 6- and 12-String Guitar, both released in 1969, Kottke recorded for Takoma and then Capitol, with albums such as Mudlark (1971), Greenhouse (1972), My Feet Are Smiling (1973) and Ice Water (1973). In the 1980s, tendonitis problems led him to alter his technique, resulting in a permanently more flexible and pared-down approach. His subsequent career alternates between solo records and collaborations, notably with Mike Gordon on Clone (2002), Sixty Six Steps (2005) and Noon (2020). Kottke sings occasionally, but his repertoire remains centered on a narrative, precise and highly personal acoustic guitar style developed over decades between American folk, instrumental composition and forms close to americana.