Julian Bream: A Life on the Road

This gem of a book was difficult to find as a hardback. Copies were few and far between, and the price tag was rather steep, if you could secure one. Now readers can finally enjoy a backseat view to vignettes of Julian Bream's remarkable international career. Lovers of classical guitar and the classical music life will cherish the myriad anecdotes and fascinating details concerning the logistics of touring the world playing guitar, performing in all sorts of conditions, as well as pre and post concert routines of Bream. All these details are sprinkled with Bream's trademark humour and bubbly personality page after page. What a truly astounding musical career Julian Bream had! Buy this book, put on a Julian Bream record or play a recital video from Youtube, and enjoy a marvelous read. His magical touch will be missed. Luckily we have no end of wonderful records by this English master who proved the great Francisco Tarrega wrong.

Written especially well (for those of you that can read).A true genius.

Great book!Ideal for any guitar afficionado,teacher or student!!

Great book about an amazing character and artist. Highly recommend it.

This is an excellent book where Julian Bream shares his experiences and his deep knowledge of music.

Great stuff.

great

This is a great story of Julian Bream's life and touring career. He has a very amicable personality and after reading it you'll want nothing more than to go sit at a pub with Mr. Bream and hear about his stories of the road. It's a shame this book is such a rare find. If you read this Julian, please re-release it!

I have a hardback copy of this book but like too many books bought with good intention it's gone unread for many years. The Kindle version popped into view at a reasonable price so after trying the sample I bought and thoroughly enjoyed it (Reading in the dark is such a pleasure!). As the title describes it contains some of Julian Breams reflections and thoughts about what it's like being a travelling performer. Trials, tribulations, the good, the bad and (no .. not ugly). From talking guitars/instruments, caring for his guitar ('old box'), fastidious string selection, music selection, practice, well being, lifestyle, hotels, transport, venues, attire, dining, people, relationships, memories, to being Julian Bream. A truly one off master musician who in this book reveals his humanity in a very open and honest way. Not the type to stand fools or phonies gladly, dedicated to his craft, very aware of his limitations and the effort it took to present the best possible performance of guitar/lute music (old and new) to a live theatre audience, TV studio or recording session. Along with Mr. Bream's conversation there is also commentary by the author and others who thought they knew him. Was he a perfectionist? No, he just wanted everything to be done properly. Good old fashioned work ethic, dedication and conscientiousness! There's much to admire in the highly gifted and intelligent Julian Bream as shown in this snapshot of a particular period in his life. Why he didn't receive a British knighthood when so many less worthy have and do? Therein lies another mystery. Well worth a read to be in his company.

I did enjoying reading this interesting book about the life of Julian Bream a lot. I recommend this book to everybody who loves the classical guitar as much as I do. Julian is still the best guitar player I know.

This is a wonderful and etertaining book. There is plenty to interest music and guitar buffs but the general reader will enjoy this too. Julian Bream comes across as a bit of an eccentric character and some of his sayings and doings reported in the book are hilarious. What this book also has is a fully updated Discography too which is very detailed: not only giving the tracklist but the make of guitar/lute played and where. This book gave me a lot of pleasure. Well worth your tenner and a bit if you are a player or just love the man and his music.

This was a replacement for a lost book which I bought when newly published! I wanted to read it again as Bream is my guitar hero, a true musician who happened to chose the guitar as his means of expression, as did I.I great read, with a lot of 'Breamisms' throughout, but an insight into the life of a travelling musician, and a somewhat lonely existence.Unfortunately there is a fault in the page printing of this copy, with a few missing and other doubled, but the main sense is still there, and it is a necessary addition to a classical guitarist's library, containing travel notes, chronology and a discography.Rod Faulkner

What more can I say except that this book tells Julian Bream's story beautifully and only adds to my admiration of this incredibly multi-talented, funny, modest, legendary musician.