Album Notes

The Complete Blues Viola is a collection of blues (or blues based) tunes, all but four of which are original. The various viola, bass, drum and vocal parts were all performed by the composer/arranger. (One of the pieces had nine separate viola parts plus a bass part.) A typical guitar effects box was used to create the bass part by lowering the viola one octave. It was also used for the various electronic distortion effects in "Wired" and "Electric Landlady". The album was recorded in the composer's kitchen using an eight track reel to reel tape recorder.

Composer, violinist, violist, conductor, orchestral and chamber musician, George Andrix was a finalist in the Naumberg Competition (New York) in 1965 as a member of the Ithaca String Quartet.
Born in Chicago, he trained at the University of Illinois and the Trinity College of music in London. During his studies at the University of Illinois he had the opportunity to work with such well-known musicians as Max Rostal, Paul Roland, Sir Thomas Beecham, Benjamin Britten, George Enesco, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith, John Cage, and Harry Partch.
He composed, produced, and played all the parts, and sang on his own CD, The Complete Blues Viola.
George has been a competitive archer and black powder cartridge shooter, a sheep farmer, a boat builder, a livery stable hand, and has played string quartets on white water raft trips down the Grand Canyon.
At present George Andrix resides in Edmonton Alberta Canada where he is active as a composer and baroque violinist.