Pierre Bensusan is a French- Algerian guitarist. His family came from Spain, Spanish Morocco and French Algeria. His CDs include Pres de Paris (released 1975), 2 (released 1977), Solilai (released 1982), Intuite (released 2000), An Evening With International Guitar Night (released 2004), and Altiplanos (released 2005). The genre of his guitar music is often characterized as Celtic, Folk, World music, New Age, or Jazz.
Born in 1957 in Oran, French Algeria, his family moved to Paris when he was four years old. He took up the piano at the age of seven and, aged eleven, began to teach himself guitar. He signed the contract for his first album, Près de Paris, when he was just seventeen; it was released one year later, winning him the Grand Prix du Disque at the Montreux Festival. His many influences include Django Reinhardt, Martin Carthy, Ry Cooder, Big Bill Broonzy, Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Ralph Towner, Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny and Paco de Lucía.
Pierre Bensusan has a reputation as a creative innovator, including his use of DADGAD tuning as well as his experimentation with electronics such as delays, distortions and volume pedals, which have been largely abandoned on recent tours.
The “Mozart of Guitar” is back in the UK. Over the past 40 years, finger style acoustic guitar virtuoso Pierre Bensusan has taken his unique blend of world, Celtic, jazz and folk inspired music to all corners of the globe. Winner of the 2014 Independent Music Award in the Live Performance Album category for his triple live album "Encore", Pierre is recognized as one of the great guitar players of the 21st century. Described as a ‘genius’ by the likes of Jon Gomm and Melody Maker, immortalised by the tune ‘Bensusan’ written in tribute by the late Michael Hedges, and referenced as an important inspiration to many other great musicians, Pierre Bensusan is a one-of-a-kind artist whose music transcends genre and time
