Davy Graham - A Scholar and a Gentleman (2009)

When Davy Graham died last December, the British folk scene lost one of its most extraordinary and influential guitarists, for he was years ahead of his time. He was fascinated by traditional music, but also by blues, north African, Middle Eastern and Indian styles, and classical music. It was impossible to guess what he would turn to next, and he brought a new experimental approach to the folk scene that persists today. This new two-CD set concentrates on his most creative period, the 60s, and much comes from the Decca catalogue. It starts with the original 1963 version of his best-known guitar piece, Angi (later rerecorded as Anji). There are also tracks from his influential 1965 album, Folk, Blues & Beyond, which includes everything from Mingus to Dylan, and from the experimental Folk Roots, New Routes, recorded with singer Shirley Collins. Then there's his treatment of a Bulgarian dance piece, a Purcell harpsichord work, and the extraordinary She Moved Thru' the Bizarre, which switches from English folk song to a raga, and then back again. The man was a genius.