The unassuming guru of guitar,
Ross celebrates 38 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 travelling bluesmen
- Doc Span and Ross Williams - 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 fingerpicking 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 with
his young family in Queensland, Australia. He has completed
a degree in Jazz Studies at the Queensland Conservatorium, established a recording studio and an internet/audio development
company (RawMedia) and commenced a career in music education.
Ross regularly conducts fingerstyle guitar workshops and seminars
for a variety of guitar manufacturers and musical equipment importers
and is a regular demonstrator in Live Sound & hard disk recording
systems for Yamaha
Music.
Ross is a fulltime lecturer in Popular Music at the Queensland
Conservatorium's Bachelor
of Popular Music programme based at Griffith University's Gold Coast campus.
Recently, Ross lent
his guitar talents to Brisbane's La
Boite Theatre's production of Long Gone Lonesome Cowgirls.
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