The composer says: For years, my fellow guitarists have been asking me to compose a solo classical guitar piece that reflects that most American of musical styles'the blues. Their prodding was the motivation for Periwinkle Memories; the inspiration for the piece, however, really came from a maestro of extraordinary skill, and a teacher of even more extraordinary patience, Elias Barreiro, my guita…

The composer says: Several musical threads led to my writing this piece of music to celebrate my friend Matanya Ophee's (AKA MO) 80th birthday - a life lived with the guitar. Jelly Roll Morton once asserted: 'In fact, if you can't manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning; I call it, for jazz.' Over the last couple of years I moved back to Je…