Enver Izmailov is an extraordinary “two-handed” virtuoso guitarist and composer, specialized in the guitar tapping technique. His music crosses boundaries, venturing into jazz, rock and world music. Of Ukrainian Tatar origin, he was born June 12th, 1955, in Uzbekistan and now lives in Crimea (Ukraine).

After graduating in bassoon from the music school in Fergana in 1973, he actively participated in rock and jazz projects. In 1990 he graduated from Tashkent University, in the specialty of “conductor of folk music orchestras” and during the period of 1990-2000 he took part in music festivals and toured around the USA and numerous European countries. He participated in joint CD-recordings together with foreign musicians and appeared on the same stage with some of the most famous jazz guitar players, such as John McLaughlin, John Scofield, Stanley Jordan. He was the first-price-winner of the First European International Guitarist Competition which was held in Lausanne Switzerland in 1995.

In his compositions he uses elements from Indian and Balkan folk music, using difficult rhythms: 7/8, 5/8, 9/16, 11/16, 13/16, etc. The technique he uses is called “tapping’ or “two-handed-tapping”. Enver Izmailov had begun using this technique several years before Stanley Jordan’s tapping album was released. So at the moment there are two schools of tapping – Jordan’s (also called “jazz tapping”) and Izmailov’s (also referred to as “eastern tapping”). These two styles of tapping are different. There is a trick Izmailov uses sometimes – playing two instruments with different pitches at the same time.

In addition to solo performances Izmailov has taken part in duets, trios, quartets. Enver Izmailov has released twenty albums in Finland, Russia, Germany, Moldova and Switzerland and one with the “Minaret” trio in Ukraine.

See Enver Izmailov at 100 Greatest Worldwide Guitarists (All Genres) list at #59: http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_guitar-all.html