I missed this in March: John Rebourn, an influential – to other guitar players – British guitarist died on March 26th, aged 70.

I spent much of my time at university trying to copy John Renbourn’s playing – with limited success, I might add. He would occasionally visit the smoky pub that my friends and I frequented and play; I always sat as close as possible to try and figure out what he was doing and later chat over a drink – usually about William Byrd, oddly enough.

The last time I saw him play was in Guelph a few years ago. Here he is in a recording made for the BBC:

John Renbourn – Bluesy numbers by kitsch