Joseph Spence

Originating from Andrus island in the Bahamas, Spence forged a wholly personal and unreplicable guitar technique built on percussive, spontaneous vamps that reframed both solemn hymns and conventional pieces like the “square” standard “Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer.” Among folk guitarists he functioned as a counterpart to Thelonious Monk, his raspy vocal counterpoint and unexpected inventions ranking among the genre’s most cherished pleasures.