Les Paul - Synthesis Thinker
Les Paul was recently featured on the PBS American Masters series. His creativity and inventiveness reminds me of Steve Jobs, and their ability to synthesize talent and technology in creative ways. (See Howard Gardner link below.) In addition to being a virtuoso guitarist, Les Paul pioneered multitrack recording and is the namesake of the Gibson Les Paul electric guitar. Les Paul has won five Grammy's and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Les Paul continues to perform on Monday nights in NYC at the Iridium Jazz Club.
The guitar techniques perfected during his playing prime introduced stunning innovations still copied today, while his contributions to audio recording technology and the electronic processing of sound blazed new trails that have since become super highways. Through it all, what Les Paul has always done is take every resource available and integrate it with his own ideas to produce unique innovations. Taken together, the enduring influence of his unique contributions to recording technology, instrument design and American popular music are unsurpassed by any other single individual. He is the man who changed the music, and truly the godfather of modern electric guitar. From Les Paul Interview, by Michael Cochran, Modern Guitars, June 9, 2005.
