Ferenc Snetberger

Biography from http://www.snetberger.com

Born in 1957 in Salgotarjan, Hungary, Ferenc Snétberger is a citizen of Berlin, Germany since 1988. Hailing from a Sinti/Roma family in Hungary, he played Gypsy guitar at an early age, learned classical guitar as a teenager, studied jazz guitar later at the Ferenc Liszt Academy, Budapest and adapted Brazilian and Spanish techniques to his playing.
Carrying in his bag the passion of tango, Indian music and the admiration for Egberto Gismonti, Jim Hall and Johann Sebastian Bach, Snétberger has become one of the few truly distinctive voices on contemporary guitar, a border-crossing virtuoso of a rare kind. Usually his unaccompanied solo pieces are elegant bows towards Spain and Latin America featuring Snétberger's improvisational fantasy combined with a perfect classical technique.
An obvious choice to step in for the late Charlie Byrd in the 'Great Guitars' band and a welcome celebrity at the Budapest Music Academy, Snétberger also frequently appears in ethnic-oriented musical contexts. He recorded a bunch of albums and has performed in Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, Norway, Finland, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, India, Japan and other countries. He also took part in many radio and TV productions and as a soloist with big band (e. g. Ernie Wilkins).
On stage he met with such as Didier Lockwood, Anthony Jackson, Bobby McFerrin, James Moody, David Friedman, Dhafer Youssef and Pat Metheny. Snétberger was appointed freeman of his birth town in 2002 and received the Hungarian Order of Merit two years later. In 2005 he was awarded the Liszt Ferenc Prize in Budapest.
"In Memory Of My People" is the title of Ferenc Snétberger's first composition for guitar and orchestra. It was triggered in 1995 by a composer living in Israel who asked classical musicians all around the world to write music on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the holocaust's ending. Dedicated to the memory of his own people, the Roma and Sinti, Snétberger's concert is a vital statement against human suffering and inspired by the soulful melodies of Gypsy tradition. Snétberger was invited to perform his concert with chamber orchestras in Hungary and Germany. He also wrote music for Pralipe, a mobile theater of Roma people, and composed for films. In 2005 two film documentaries on his life and work are in progress.
In 2004 Ferenc Snétberger founded his new trio with Norwegian bass legend Arild Andersen and Italian-born drummer/percussionist Paolo Vinaccia. With natural ease the three of them bring together choice compositions, technical skills, improvisational drive and musical fantasy of the highest order. Hailed as "a triangle of pan-European inspirations, an amalgam of mysticism and joy of life, dream paths and clear laughs, trance and dance", the trio has quickly evolved into a great live band. Their music—ranging from modern jazz drive and world beats to decent electronic sounds and vibrant lyricism—catches the audiences by its sheer magical power.

Nettsted: http://www.snetberger.com