Mr.Will Guitar
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About Mr.Will Guitar
The creative talent behind the hugely successful musical outreach programme ‘Planet Sound Community Arts’, William Sherratt assigns much of the credit for his singular approach to the composition and playing music to his mixed race background.
Born to a white English father and Filipino mother, the performer who would develop an international reputation as under the stage persona “Mr Will” first picked up a guitar at the age of eight, already understanding that there was a world of music beyond MTV and Radio 1.
By his early teens, and while his peers were aping the trends of modern rock music, Mr Will’s imagination had already long since been captured by the challenges of what he calls “the timeless precision” of classical guitar and the “random precision” of playing modern Jazz.
He explained: “The concept of different cultures blending to create something new was literally brought home to me because I saw it every day with my parents, and this will always be part of my style of music and approach to performances. Growing up, I absorbed all sorts of music, and it didn’t really occur to me that this was Western or this was African or Eastern, good music was good music and it could be composed, performed and enjoyed everywhere and anywhere.”
After studying for over a decade with such varied teachers as legendary Congoloese guitarist Lokassa Y Mbongo in Boston and West African artists from Mali, Guinea and Gambia, Mr Will’s eclectic and playful approach to composition and performance was complete.
Influenced and inspired by the likes of Tuck Andress and Martin Taylor – who performed as “an entire band on one guitar” Mr Will developed hugely popular double acts with several vocalists which, in time, helped initiate the thriving Jazz & Blues scene that dominates live music in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Many reviewers have remarked on Mr Will’s technique of using his thumb and all four fingers strum his guitars, the result of which is, in the words of one reviewer, “an effect which made you think you were listening to several instruments, and not all of them guitar”. Yet Mr Will’s commitment to innovation and experimentation goes much deeper than simply how he chooses to strike six or 12 strings.
Mr Will has travelled the world and played guitar and djembe to the highest level in many different musical settings to vastly diverse audiences. Having trained in the Gambia, under Guinean masters on the Balafon, djembe and dun duns, he began producing original percussion pieces on West African instruments.
At the same time, his enthusiasm for samba and Brazilian carnival led to the composition of original samba songs and carnival enredo pieces, co-written with the legendary Bosco De Oliveria.
Crucially, the pieces are all English language; a fact Mr Will is proud of. “There is a feeling among some musicians that “foreign tradition” is synonymous with “authentic”, and the only way of playing an instrument with any authenticity or even validity is to do so exactly as it is done in the instruments place and time or origin.
“But my outlook is that a good song composed about life in Newcastle-under-Lyme or London can be every bit as compelling and legitimate as a song about any grand subject. And, if that song happens to suit a classical guitar and African drum, then that’s wonderful.”
That is the maxim of Planet Sound Community Arts, founded by Mr Will in 1998 with the expressed intention of making the world’s music accessible to the wider community of the West Midlands, regardless of age, background or ability, through workshops and structured longer term programmes.
Mr Will said: “I wasn’t interested in doing community arts merely as a way of exploring foreign cultures and traditions; I didn’t want to be a geography or history teacher.”
Planet Sound’s annual showpiece event is aptly entitled Spectrums of Sound. In 2005 it graduated from simply a forum for local artists to truly a landmark occasion on the music scene, boasting international talent and packing out the 1550 seater Victoria Hall.
With Planet Sound now giving thousands of people a quality opportunity in the arts across the North Staffs every year, Mr Will has recently taken a half step back from the day-to-day running to concentrate on performing and working on his own music.
Mr.Will is currently working on an album of original compositions that bring together the West African percussion and music of the UK to produce a new sound which, while its roots are spread far and wide, is strong and distinct on the landscape.
Born to a white English father and Filipino mother, the performer who would develop an international reputation as under the stage persona “Mr Will” first picked up a guitar at the age of eight, already understanding that there was a world of music beyond MTV and Radio 1.
By his early teens, and while his peers were aping the trends of modern rock music, Mr Will’s imagination had already long since been captured by the challenges of what he calls “the timeless precision” of classical guitar and the “random precision” of playing modern Jazz.
He explained: “The concept of different cultures blending to create something new was literally brought home to me because I saw it every day with my parents, and this will always be part of my style of music and approach to performances. Growing up, I absorbed all sorts of music, and it didn’t really occur to me that this was Western or this was African or Eastern, good music was good music and it could be composed, performed and enjoyed everywhere and anywhere.”
After studying for over a decade with such varied teachers as legendary Congoloese guitarist Lokassa Y Mbongo in Boston and West African artists from Mali, Guinea and Gambia, Mr Will’s eclectic and playful approach to composition and performance was complete.
Influenced and inspired by the likes of Tuck Andress and Martin Taylor – who performed as “an entire band on one guitar” Mr Will developed hugely popular double acts with several vocalists which, in time, helped initiate the thriving Jazz & Blues scene that dominates live music in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Many reviewers have remarked on Mr Will’s technique of using his thumb and all four fingers strum his guitars, the result of which is, in the words of one reviewer, “an effect which made you think you were listening to several instruments, and not all of them guitar”. Yet Mr Will’s commitment to innovation and experimentation goes much deeper than simply how he chooses to strike six or 12 strings.
Mr Will has travelled the world and played guitar and djembe to the highest level in many different musical settings to vastly diverse audiences. Having trained in the Gambia, under Guinean masters on the Balafon, djembe and dun duns, he began producing original percussion pieces on West African instruments.
At the same time, his enthusiasm for samba and Brazilian carnival led to the composition of original samba songs and carnival enredo pieces, co-written with the legendary Bosco De Oliveria.
Crucially, the pieces are all English language; a fact Mr Will is proud of. “There is a feeling among some musicians that “foreign tradition” is synonymous with “authentic”, and the only way of playing an instrument with any authenticity or even validity is to do so exactly as it is done in the instruments place and time or origin.
“But my outlook is that a good song composed about life in Newcastle-under-Lyme or London can be every bit as compelling and legitimate as a song about any grand subject. And, if that song happens to suit a classical guitar and African drum, then that’s wonderful.”
That is the maxim of Planet Sound Community Arts, founded by Mr Will in 1998 with the expressed intention of making the world’s music accessible to the wider community of the West Midlands, regardless of age, background or ability, through workshops and structured longer term programmes.
Mr Will said: “I wasn’t interested in doing community arts merely as a way of exploring foreign cultures and traditions; I didn’t want to be a geography or history teacher.”
Planet Sound’s annual showpiece event is aptly entitled Spectrums of Sound. In 2005 it graduated from simply a forum for local artists to truly a landmark occasion on the music scene, boasting international talent and packing out the 1550 seater Victoria Hall.
With Planet Sound now giving thousands of people a quality opportunity in the arts across the North Staffs every year, Mr Will has recently taken a half step back from the day-to-day running to concentrate on performing and working on his own music.
Mr.Will is currently working on an album of original compositions that bring together the West African percussion and music of the UK to produce a new sound which, while its roots are spread far and wide, is strong and distinct on the landscape.
Show More
No upcoming shows
Send a request to Mr.Will Guitar to play in your city
Request a Show
About Mr.Will Guitar
The creative talent behind the hugely successful musical outreach programme ‘Planet Sound Community Arts’, William Sherratt assigns much of the credit for his singular approach to the composition and playing music to his mixed race background.
Born to a white English father and Filipino mother, the performer who would develop an international reputation as under the stage persona “Mr Will” first picked up a guitar at the age of eight, already understanding that there was a world of music beyond MTV and Radio 1.
By his early teens, and while his peers were aping the trends of modern rock music, Mr Will’s imagination had already long since been captured by the challenges of what he calls “the timeless precision” of classical guitar and the “random precision” of playing modern Jazz.
He explained: “The concept of different cultures blending to create something new was literally brought home to me because I saw it every day with my parents, and this will always be part of my style of music and approach to performances. Growing up, I absorbed all sorts of music, and it didn’t really occur to me that this was Western or this was African or Eastern, good music was good music and it could be composed, performed and enjoyed everywhere and anywhere.”
After studying for over a decade with such varied teachers as legendary Congoloese guitarist Lokassa Y Mbongo in Boston and West African artists from Mali, Guinea and Gambia, Mr Will’s eclectic and playful approach to composition and performance was complete.
Influenced and inspired by the likes of Tuck Andress and Martin Taylor – who performed as “an entire band on one guitar” Mr Will developed hugely popular double acts with several vocalists which, in time, helped initiate the thriving Jazz & Blues scene that dominates live music in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Many reviewers have remarked on Mr Will’s technique of using his thumb and all four fingers strum his guitars, the result of which is, in the words of one reviewer, “an effect which made you think you were listening to several instruments, and not all of them guitar”. Yet Mr Will’s commitment to innovation and experimentation goes much deeper than simply how he chooses to strike six or 12 strings.
Mr Will has travelled the world and played guitar and djembe to the highest level in many different musical settings to vastly diverse audiences. Having trained in the Gambia, under Guinean masters on the Balafon, djembe and dun duns, he began producing original percussion pieces on West African instruments.
At the same time, his enthusiasm for samba and Brazilian carnival led to the composition of original samba songs and carnival enredo pieces, co-written with the legendary Bosco De Oliveria.
Crucially, the pieces are all English language; a fact Mr Will is proud of. “There is a feeling among some musicians that “foreign tradition” is synonymous with “authentic”, and the only way of playing an instrument with any authenticity or even validity is to do so exactly as it is done in the instruments place and time or origin.
“But my outlook is that a good song composed about life in Newcastle-under-Lyme or London can be every bit as compelling and legitimate as a song about any grand subject. And, if that song happens to suit a classical guitar and African drum, then that’s wonderful.”
That is the maxim of Planet Sound Community Arts, founded by Mr Will in 1998 with the expressed intention of making the world’s music accessible to the wider community of the West Midlands, regardless of age, background or ability, through workshops and structured longer term programmes.
Mr Will said: “I wasn’t interested in doing community arts merely as a way of exploring foreign cultures and traditions; I didn’t want to be a geography or history teacher.”
Planet Sound’s annual showpiece event is aptly entitled Spectrums of Sound. In 2005 it graduated from simply a forum for local artists to truly a landmark occasion on the music scene, boasting international talent and packing out the 1550 seater Victoria Hall.
With Planet Sound now giving thousands of people a quality opportunity in the arts across the North Staffs every year, Mr Will has recently taken a half step back from the day-to-day running to concentrate on performing and working on his own music.
Mr.Will is currently working on an album of original compositions that bring together the West African percussion and music of the UK to produce a new sound which, while its roots are spread far and wide, is strong and distinct on the landscape.
Born to a white English father and Filipino mother, the performer who would develop an international reputation as under the stage persona “Mr Will” first picked up a guitar at the age of eight, already understanding that there was a world of music beyond MTV and Radio 1.
By his early teens, and while his peers were aping the trends of modern rock music, Mr Will’s imagination had already long since been captured by the challenges of what he calls “the timeless precision” of classical guitar and the “random precision” of playing modern Jazz.
He explained: “The concept of different cultures blending to create something new was literally brought home to me because I saw it every day with my parents, and this will always be part of my style of music and approach to performances. Growing up, I absorbed all sorts of music, and it didn’t really occur to me that this was Western or this was African or Eastern, good music was good music and it could be composed, performed and enjoyed everywhere and anywhere.”
After studying for over a decade with such varied teachers as legendary Congoloese guitarist Lokassa Y Mbongo in Boston and West African artists from Mali, Guinea and Gambia, Mr Will’s eclectic and playful approach to composition and performance was complete.
Influenced and inspired by the likes of Tuck Andress and Martin Taylor – who performed as “an entire band on one guitar” Mr Will developed hugely popular double acts with several vocalists which, in time, helped initiate the thriving Jazz & Blues scene that dominates live music in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Many reviewers have remarked on Mr Will’s technique of using his thumb and all four fingers strum his guitars, the result of which is, in the words of one reviewer, “an effect which made you think you were listening to several instruments, and not all of them guitar”. Yet Mr Will’s commitment to innovation and experimentation goes much deeper than simply how he chooses to strike six or 12 strings.
Mr Will has travelled the world and played guitar and djembe to the highest level in many different musical settings to vastly diverse audiences. Having trained in the Gambia, under Guinean masters on the Balafon, djembe and dun duns, he began producing original percussion pieces on West African instruments.
At the same time, his enthusiasm for samba and Brazilian carnival led to the composition of original samba songs and carnival enredo pieces, co-written with the legendary Bosco De Oliveria.
Crucially, the pieces are all English language; a fact Mr Will is proud of. “There is a feeling among some musicians that “foreign tradition” is synonymous with “authentic”, and the only way of playing an instrument with any authenticity or even validity is to do so exactly as it is done in the instruments place and time or origin.
“But my outlook is that a good song composed about life in Newcastle-under-Lyme or London can be every bit as compelling and legitimate as a song about any grand subject. And, if that song happens to suit a classical guitar and African drum, then that’s wonderful.”
That is the maxim of Planet Sound Community Arts, founded by Mr Will in 1998 with the expressed intention of making the world’s music accessible to the wider community of the West Midlands, regardless of age, background or ability, through workshops and structured longer term programmes.
Mr Will said: “I wasn’t interested in doing community arts merely as a way of exploring foreign cultures and traditions; I didn’t want to be a geography or history teacher.”
Planet Sound’s annual showpiece event is aptly entitled Spectrums of Sound. In 2005 it graduated from simply a forum for local artists to truly a landmark occasion on the music scene, boasting international talent and packing out the 1550 seater Victoria Hall.
With Planet Sound now giving thousands of people a quality opportunity in the arts across the North Staffs every year, Mr Will has recently taken a half step back from the day-to-day running to concentrate on performing and working on his own music.
Mr.Will is currently working on an album of original compositions that bring together the West African percussion and music of the UK to produce a new sound which, while its roots are spread far and wide, is strong and distinct on the landscape.
Show More
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