Kenn Harris grew up in the ‘50s & ‘60s in the golden age of folk and transitions of folk/rock to rock’n roll and soaked it all up. He has been a lifelong musician who is predominantly self taught. Although primarily noted as an acoustic finger-style guitarist, he has branched out to other instrumentation, and endeavors… keys, mandolin, mandola, harmonica, light percussion, sound recordings, photography, composition, arrangements, and production.

“I can remember from the earliest age playing a toy harmonica banging on drums, cymbals, trying to play a violin, and my dear grandma trying to teach me how to use 2 hands on an old upright piano how to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… I never really got that… and to this day still can not… but years later it opened the door to being able to play, piano by ear, and compose on piano…

At age 11, I started teaching myself how to play a very beat up old guitar. At age 14 to 15 I took some classical lessons, from Leonid Bolotine, that I hated at the time, but I learned how to read music a little and mostly how to ergonomically use. my left hand, and how to play finger-style with classical techniques that was not appreciated at all until I went off to college in Tucson, and realized that I could use what I had learned on nylon strings to play on steel strings. This extra tool in my toolbox allowed me to be able to play some of the finger-style pieces or articulation of Jackson Brown, James Taylor Dave Von Ronk Tom Rush, Simon & Garfunkel etc and to attempt trying to play delta like blues, flamenco/Spanish style guitar playing

At age 14 I bought my 0017 small body mahogany Martin for $100 in rolls of quarters from my paper route from Noah Wolfe in the music district in NYC across from Manny’s. Over the years, I never gave up on practicing playing and learning.

I took Jazz Ballad sessions at age 30 in New Mexico. from Bob Brown, for a couple of years, every othere week. Bob was a wonderful teacher and human being… My wife and I would go to a club on the west side of Albuquerque to see and hear his jazz band play… At a guitar clinic that Bob had organized for Tommy Tedesco, (of the LA WRECKING CREW) Tommy asked for a few volunteers to come up, as he wanted to see who could improvise on the spot in real time as he read a poem in front of a few hundred guitar players. So… I got to freestyle play, his guitar while Tommy dramatically read the poem poem… I think 3 of us participated one shredded a lot, another played without much attention to the reading… whereas I created a tonal finger-style composition to go along with the meter and theme of poem, with a consensus that I my improvisation was the best… a totally wonderful experience to have my teacher smiling at me in that way, with knowledge that his student did well so… that's how a 30 something kid in Albuquerque I got to accompany the guitarist for the LA Wrecking Crew… Some of the things I learned from Tommy I stiil use today… RIP Tommy Tedesco and Bob Brown YOU ARE REMEMBERED with great admiration Thank YOU

After learning how to play better and to find the songs within the chords and after playing everyone else’s songs for my first 25 years (age 11 to age of mid thirties) I set a goal of trying to create my own music, over the course of a year, that then was recorded by Joe Corao, on real to real and released on a cassette, “The Year of the TIger”followed by my full CDs over the following decades. “Songs from the Hacienda” & Amadeo.

I produced a Breast Cancer Benefit Album, for the Komen organization.

Afterwards, at the recommendation of my friend from C4 days in Cave Creek, Gus Brett, (check his “Orphan of Love” Album, songs Closeness & Trust is Coming Home… I connected Rachel Harris/ cellist for the benefit album for Trust is Coming Home, but all other was pure Gusmo) so… I took voice lessons from Vanessa Purdy with a goal of getting my voice up to 1/2 of my guitar playing. She unlocked my voice, and I am forever grateful for the lessons… Vanessa has been a senior level teacher in the Seth RIggs Speech Level Singing system (see wikipedia) etc… for his student list… no allusions here, but my way of saying Vanessa is “the best”) The fact that my teacher thinks my voice is beautiful… is amazing!

I have written tons of songs over the years, and finally got to record my first solo Singer/Songwriter Album, “Desert Stories.” My Kids gave me a birthday present of 25 hrs of recording time in Odie’s Abcat Studio…

I have many albums “to go before I sleep.”

See reviews of guitar albums and discography on home page.

and Recent performance times/places.

Techy construction thing here I can’t cut the space out from this section to the next TY SqSpace below is in the southern hemisphere… scroll safely

This is my 1950 Gibson small body, carved archtop with mahogany flat back, that I found in Albuquerque, New Mexico and traded in a 3/4 small size Fender, and a Silvertone/Danlectro Amp Case (wish I still had both) and paid Mr. Romero on time for a year, New Mexico in 1979 and is featured on his new Desert Stories album. It is an amazing instrument, with great action and feel, that can respond to the lightest touch but also take, slamming without a buzz, the neck is very thick and solid, and this plus the carved spruce top, helps create the sweetest overtones and balance for finger-style technique. I use Elixir Phosphor Bronze 10s and am so thankful for the luthiers who attended to it along there way… in the 1990’s George Leach, Phoenix Guitar Company who moved to California, and in 2022 Tim Mulqueeny, Atomic Guitar Works, in Peoria Az, for all their expert help in keeping this instrument playable.

Another Luthier to mention, who has worked on several of my other vintage instruments is Phil Clark, of Steadfast, in Phoenix.

Otis Francis, ‘Odie’ at ABCAT recorded and mastered the Album.

ALL THE ABOVE ie George, Tim, Phil and Odie are considered magicians; for without them I can’t play/or record etc :)