As the story goes, Ellwood cajoled his parents into buying him a cheap, nearly unplayable guitar when he was 12 years old. The instrument was too warped to play chords, so he came up with the right-handed picking style he uses to this day. The Canadian-born artist later developed an interest in renaissance and baroque music, taught himself to play the lute, and eventually designed a 7-string guitar so he could transcribe lute pieces without sacrificing any voicings. Ellwood's classical music leanings are apparent on his Narada recordings, although his music has a gentle, contemporary feel to it as well. ~ Linda Kohanov