Take Note: Glen Helgeson

Glen Helgeson has been a fixture in the local guitar community for the past twenty-five years. His band, The Gypsy Mania Quartet, specializes in the music of jazz greats Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, while his other group, Axis Mundi, branches out into world-music jazz and original compositions. He is a technically masterful player who fuses exotic rhythms with soulful, intelligent leads.

GREW UP: St. Cloud

DEGREES: An MA in music therapy and a BA in international relations.

FIRST GUITAR EXPERIENCE: “Back in the 1960s, my brothers came home with Beatles albums, Hendrix, the Grateful Dead. But my favorite was Leo Kottke. Before I picked up a guitar, I used to play along with Leo on a tennis racket."

ON ACQUIRING TOO MANY GUITARS: “I think I have about ten guitars, but it’s best not to know these things. Otherwise, you have to admit to an addiction.”

THE GYPSY IN HIM: “I like playing the music of Django Reinhardt because he shaped the idiom of jazz guitar. It’s also challenging and fun and has an exotic Eastern European feel that appeals to my interest in music created outside the U.S.”

WORLD MUSIC DEFINED: My definition of world music is just music that incorporates elements of music from outside the U.S. I just find that there’s a lot more meaning and soul in music from other parts of the world. I’m not anticommercial—it’s just my preference. “

LIFE-CHANGING CONCERT: “I saw John McLaughlin with Shakti at Orchestra Hall in 1978, and it completely changed my life. “

OTHER INFLUENCES: Santana, Steve Howe (Yes), Pat Metheny.

WHAT’S HE LISTENING TO NOW? Marc Johnson’s The Sound of Summer Running (with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell), Bireli Lagrene, Los Lobos, Joe Pass.

CATCH HIS ACT: Aug. 1. Lake Harriet Bandshell, 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 2. Peavey Plaza (various times); Aug. 4. Brookview Picnic Shelter, 7 p.m.; Aug. 29. Vic’s, 10 p.m.; Aug. 29–30. Minnesota State Fair, Ramberg Senior Center Stage (various times).