Don Latarski

Born in the 1950s, Latarski grew up outside of Detroit, MI, close enough to that Motown vibe to trade Little League games for guitar lessons at age 10. He relocated to Oregon to attend the University of Oregon, where he earned a music degree. He studied jazz and classical guitar in college, which proved to be a natural introduction to finger picking. U of O quickly hired him to head their guitar studies program and his life since has revolved around composing, recording, and teaching. Latarski’s contribution to guitar playing cannot be understated—he has written more than 20 books on guitar instruction, and owns Crescent Studios in Eugene, where he is the audio engineer and producer. In addition to his dedication in teaching, Don has released 14 studio albums, one live album, and composed and recorded music for video games, short films, and radio programs. His quirky personality is best captured in his numerous video tutorials posted on YouTube and his Facebook page, including a recent outing, titled Mt. Hopkins Road Wind Guitar—complete with disclaimer not to try this at home. https://youtu.be/uKJQ0iz7drM. His musical experiments include building two different types of guitar-like instruments: the wind and water guitars. Both of these instruments can be heard on The River Suite, a 31 minute composition in 9 movements released by Heart Dance Records in 2018.