Thom Bresh was a multi-faceted entertainer. A singer, songwriter, recording artist, impressionist, and instrumentalist with an eventful career stemming from the tender age of three. He was the son of legendary Hall of Fame guitar great "Merle Travis", and could recreate that famous "Travis style" with an incredible Bresh twist.
When touring, Thom traveled with some of his array of guitars including his signature handcrafted "Dualette," (the famous two-sided guitar that he referred to as "My Band"), a custom signature Plummer" attached to a synthesizer creating incredible instrument replications, (such as a horn section, piano, and strings), and his "Unity Special" 18 inch archtop, (a state of the art version of Merle Travis' famous Gibson Super 400 Special).
Thom and extraordinary guitar pickin' had become one...globally. In New Zealand, Bresh's audiences came to see "The yank with the 2 sided guitar." Thom Bresh was hailed throughout France for his captivating sound and memorable stage presence. He also carried the coveted title of "Wine Lord" by both the World Wine Counsel in Bordeaux, France and Patrimonio, Corsica. In Europe he performed with entertainment greats like Marcel Dadi, Frances Cabrel and Albert Lee. In his vast career, he had shared audiences with everyone from Bob Hope to Gordon Lightfoot.
He guest starred with Chet Atkins and Steve Wariner on the TNN special "A Salute to the Country Greats." He hosted his own successful weekly television variety show called "Nashville Swing," and was a regular on Dinah! and the Merv Griffin Show.
Thom Bresh "the Producer" was in demand among the music industry's guitarists. Classical guitarist "Valerie Duchateau" made the long journey from France just to be produced by Bresh. He had also produced country guitar great, Jerry Reed. As a Producer, he received Grammy nominations for the Merle Travis album, "Travis Pickin," his instrumental CD, Wires to the Wood and an Academy Award nomination for "Over You," theme song from the movie Tender Mercies, in addition to producing six of his own CDs. His CD "Son of a Guitar Pickin' Man" brought him much acclaim from magazines such as "Guitar Player," to Britain's "Now Dig This." Thom's CD, "Guts & Steel", is a duet CD with the extraordinary fingerpicker, Buster B. Jones. It was released in Sept. 2001 on Solid Air Records.
Music was not his only love. As a videographer, Bresh shot, produced and edited projects that included Hank Thompson, Lyle Lovett, Brooks & Dunn, George Jones, Tanya Tucker and a long-form narrative-music-sitcom video starring Jerry Reed called "Another Puff".
He was an accomplished impressionist/comedian with a diverse collection of voices ranging from country greats to various political icons, which he incorporates with ease into his performances leaving audiences rolling in the aisles with laughter. This brilliant comedic timing and unique delivery led to two HBO Specials.
Thom was the 2001 inductee into the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame.
"Thom Bresh is a guitarist that deserves to be heard," Chet Atkins, CGP. We lost Thom in May 2022 and his music and legacy will always be with us.
I have known Thom for a long time, even longer than when I met him live at CAAS #15, the last one Chet attended and where Tommy Emanuel was awarded his CGP from Chet. That said I admire Thom as a world class guitarist and entertainer without peers. His talent is unlimited. Mostly though I consider him as a personal friend even though we seem to cross paths after several years. The good thing is I get to show him pictures of us together and the amazing thing is neither of us seem to have aged but boy everyone else has. I was glad to see him celebrating his 73 birthday, he always takes the lead I'll join him in August since we are six months from the day apart in that department.
Anyway Thom has a mind like a steel trap and is a rare talent that can fire a hot new lick back at you like an echo. He has one hell of a sense of humor.
He probably won't like me saying this but he has done more for the guitar by himself than Chet Atkins and Merle Travis put together but that is really to be understood since neither Merle or Chet had themselves to lead the way. Thom not only understood them but refined what they both took for granted. As you will hear from Thom he did that for the worlds best guitarists. So if you listen to Thom and learn from him you will be learning from the very best guitarist in the world without exception. My friend has no peers.
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aditya2509
12/16/20
Amazing
Thom Bresh is an absolutely amazing Guitar player! The way he plays an acoustic guitar is something else! As a Music Producer it was very important for me to focus on my guitar playing and develop my own sound. So I decided to start focusing on acoustic playing seriously to explore more and It helped me analyse the song, build different styles of grooves, incorporate different techniques, picking patterns, etc which was really helpful. The lessons were really easy to follow, precise articulate and most importantly engaging. Hoping to see more lessons on truefire!
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Barbara S.
10/04/20
Truly Talented
Tom Bresh is a very talented and engaging performer and educator. I had the honor of sitting in on a class in Nashville a few years ago, and the word mesmerizing sums it up! Great approach to introducing techniques such as thumb picking, boom chick, finger picking and so much more. His down to earth style and ease of interaction makes his classes a pleasure! If you are interested in any of these, Thom is a great teacher! You will not be disappointed!
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K.D.
11/03/19
One of Best
Thomas Bresh is an excellent Showman and Performer seen him live at the City Winery in Nashville love the stories he tells, If you like Tommy Emmanuel Chet Atkins Jerry Reed he is of that calibre you'll like this course, it has plenty of material for your repertoire. He goes into thumb pick selection, finger nails, boom chick approach also licks and tricks.
This is a great course for all who love the thumb picking style
