Renowned master of the classical and 12-string guitar, Ralph Towner has been a key ECM recording artist for over 40 years. Towner, born in Washington in 1940, began his jazz career as a Bill Evans-inspired pianist, then travelled to Vienna to study classical guitar with Karl Scheit, the renowned Austrian guitarist, lutenist and teacher. In New York City in the late 1960s, Towner freelanced on both piano and guitar, collaborating with musicians from Freddie Hubbard to Tim Hardin. He co-founded the groundbreaking band Oregon in 1970, with Collin Walcott, Glenn Moore and Paul McCandless – all of whom would appear on Towner’s ECM debut, Trios/Solos, in 1972. His recordings for ECM have included solo albums, duo projects (with John Abercrombie, Gary Peacock, Gary Burton and Paolo Fresu), bands under his direction (including the much-loved Solstice with Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, Jon Christensen) and discs with Oregon.

Towner has also contributed to albums by Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Kenny Wheeler and Egberto Gismonti, and guested with the group Azimuth. Of Chiaroscuro, Towner’s 2009 duo collaboration with Italian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, Jeff Tamarkin wrote that it “naturally, boasts virtuosic musicianship, but it's never about that; it's about two artists coming together by chance and allowing their mutual respect to show them the way to something great”. Peter Bacon of The Jazz Breakfast described the “international summit meeting” of Ralph Towner and fellow guitarists Wolfgang Muthspiel and Slava Grigoryan which was captured on Travel Guide in 2013 as quite simply “magnificent… a thoroughly beautiful album.”

As an instrumentalist Towner has shaped distinct languages for his classical and 12-string guitars. He has described his approach to the guitar as “pianistic: my brain wants to have access to all those notes at once.” As a composer he remains a unique force, combining baroque counterpoint, rhythms and melodies inspired by Brazilian music and jazz tradition, and a personal approach to harmony and development.