BRATTLEBORO -- Leo Kottke is a legendary acoustic guitar virtuoso who has developed a cult following of fellow guitarists and fans over the span of a more than 50-year career of recording and performing. When he plays live -- as he will Sunday night at the Latchis Theatre -- he transports audiences beyond day-to-day concerns and into deeply personal narratives that alternate between the profound and hilarious.
Blending folk, jazz, and blues influences into a signature finger-picked style of syncopated, polyphonic music, Kottke's work pre-dated and predicted much of the New Age instrumental music movement, and is often considered part of the American Primitivism movement.
Kottke, 79, has collaborated on records with his mentor John Fahey, Chet Atkins, Lyle Lovett, Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies, and Rickie Lee Jones. He has recorded tunes by Tom T. Hall, Johnny Cash, Carla Bley, Fleetwood Mac, The Byrds, Jorma Kaukonen, Kris Kristofferson, Randall Hylton and many others.
In the last 22 years, Kottke has joined up with Phish bassist Mike Gordon to produce three albums, "Clone," "Sixty Six Steps" and "Noon," which was released in 2020.
We sent Kottke a series of questions by email and he was kind enough to answer them ahead of Sunday's performance.
Q -- You've focused more on live performances in recent years than recordings. What is it about live performance that motivates you to keep getting out there and engaging with audiences?
A -- I really don't like recording, and with the industry changing so fast, and musicians taking it in the teeth because of that, it's been good to concentrate on what I do best, and love the most, and that's playing. Nothing like a purpose-built room and everyone in it there for the same reason: music. I can never get closer to the guitar than on stage. Lucky guy, I am.
Q -- You've said that music -- and specifically the guitar -- saved your life when you were a kid. Could you expand on how that happened, and how it continues to motivate you on a daily basis?
A -- My sister died so I thought I would too. I was getting pretty good at it when the guitar showed up. I built an E chord and I can still hear it. I'd been on my back for a couple months, strummed the E -- out of bed in a week.
More from this section Movies and TV shows casting across the US 10 classic trucking movies
Q -- You have overcome some physical obstacles over the years, with a partial loss of hearing and tendon damage in your hand. How are you doing physically these days and has it changed your guitar playing or singing?
A -- I don't think people who have all their hearing could tell you how that affects them. Music is not human but it's something humans love. We hear it with everything we've got, or everything we've got left. There are bite marks on the lid of Beethoven's piano. He wanted some vibration. I did what was available and hoped for the best. Took about three years to eliminate the tendinitis. Musicianship is athletic. Like Sam Snead said of golf, "It's all rhythm, balance, and timing."
Q -- You've described your singing voice as sounding like "geese farts on a muggy day." Do you feel that's shaped your songwriting in any way, or vice-versa?
A -- The sound of a human voice does something. Always. There was a commentator named Martin Agronsky whose voice sent me to the moon when I was five. Had zero idea what he was saying, it was the sound. There are voices I'll never hear again but I can hear them anytime I want.
Q -- Your collaborations with Mike Gordon over the past 20 years or so have kept you busy and helped introduce you to a new audience. Why do you think working with Mike has been so successful and rewarding for you?
A -- Mike and I were friends long before we even tried to play together. First you find out you can get along and then it might occur to you to try some playing. Maybe it's different for others, maybe even for Mike. But the only requirement I guess is laughter. You don't wanna play with some sad sack. It's been a challenge sonically, but I think we cracked it. Sitting in an ordinary room in the middle of the night and playing whatever comes up is magical with Mike.
Q -- You've never been one to make political statements on stage. Do you expect your performances this week to be in any way affected by what happened in the election?
A -- It's a privilege to play. I don't mess with that.
Leo Kottke will perform at the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St., Brattleboro at 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available at app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=larts.