“Guitars adapt to whoever is playing them. I can play somebody else’s guitar for two weeks and it will change according to how I play it”: Ralph Towner on the sensitivity of the six-string – and why he doesn't use an amp on stage

Ralph Towner

Apart from a solo career that began back in the early 1970s, nylon-string guitarist Ralph Towner has contributed to recordings from a wide range of artists, including Bill Bruford, Robben Ford and Weather Report. 

He also has the distinction of having had two craters on the moon named after his compositions, by the Apollo 15 astronauts. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, having begun his musical journey playing brass instruments before teaching himself to play piano, but it was to be the guitar that formed the main focus of his music.