Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 10, October 2003

Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.

Adams school benefit, Oct. 18

Guitarist Steve Kaufman, the only three-time winner ever of the National Flatpicking Championships, will perform at a benefit concert for Adams Elementary School in Ballard on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Kaufman performs in a range of styles including bluegrass, swing, folk, and country. He has released many CDs of his solo guitar work, as well as collaborations with other artists including Wayne Henderson ("Not Much Work for Saturday," 1996) and fellow flatpicking champion Robert Shafer ("Back Home," 2002).

Kaufman is also a noted guitar, banjo, and mandolin teacher who has presented workshops around the world and produced numerous instructional books and videos. The Arkansas Gazette calls Kaufman's playing "spectacular. His speed is astounding, more so because he never sacrifices tone, never lets his notes blur together. He makes his acoustic guitar a versatile, expressive lead instrument."

Opening the show will be the Coots, a Seattle bluegrass/country quartet which has performed this year at the Northwest Folklife Festival and Moses Lake Bluegrass Festival. The group features Scotty Williams on banjo, Nancy Katz on bass, Terry Weiner on mandolin, and Rob Bulkley (the parent of an Adams student) on guitar.

Proceeds from the show will benefit programs at Adams, which placed in the top ten schools in Washington state for fourth grade reading and mathematics test scores in 2001-02 and for third-grade scores in 2002-03.

Tickets for the show are $10 and will be available at the door. Adams Elementary is located at 6110 28th Ave. NW. For more information, call 789-5580.