William Ackerman
| Will Ackerman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949 (age 67–68) Germany |
| Genres | New age, chamber jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | Windham Hill, Imaginary Road, Lifescapes |
| Website | www |
William Ackerman (born 1949) is an American guitarist who founded Windham Hill Records.
Ackerman was born in Germany and adopted by a couple in Palo Alto, California. His father was a professor of English at Stanford University. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Northfield Mount Hermon School. He became interested in music at a young age, starting with the guitar and composing music at age twelve.
Ackerman attended Stanford University, where he composed pieces for Romeo and Juliet. In 1971 he dropped out and became a carpenter. He was five credits shy of graduating when he decided to leave. In 1975, without having played a "paying gig"
"(a) group of friends and informal fans got together and collected about $300 in five dollar bills to send me into a recording studio. I picked a studio out of the phone book named Mantra Studios (it was the 70s after all!). I walked into that room and made a record I called The Search for the Turtle's Navel in two afternoons." (William Ackerman, liner notes for Returning, 2005).
He abandoned carpentry when music took up most of his time. He named his new record label after a Vermont inn where he spent summers as a child. He did many jobs at Windham Hill Records, including picking cover art and producing records.
Early releases included his own album, It Takes a Year (1977), and Turning: Turning Back (1978) by Alex De Grassi, his cousin. The album that gained Windham Hill attention was an album of solo piano, Autumn (1980) by George Winston. It was reviewed in Rolling Stone and for many years was the bestselling album in the catalogue.
Ackerman's other great discovery was Michael Hedges. He has often told the story of how he heard Hedges performing in a Palo Alto cafe and immediately wrote a recording contract for him on a paper napkin. Hedges and Ackerman performed concerts together for several years in the early 1980s and played together on one of Ackerman's albums. Some other notable artists he produced include Liz Story and Shadowfax.
...
Wikipedia