Ed Horowitz, The Strolling Musician will Entertain us During the Golden Mouse Awards & Auction
In 1969, at the age of 16, Ed happened to hear a man playing blues on the acoustic guitar in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. It was quite profound for him, and he purchased an inexpensive guitar and began practicing day and night. Soon after, he became interested in traditional American music and began experimenting with the mandolin, violin, and 5 string banjo. There weren’t many books on this type of music back then,and learning it required going to coffee houses, folk festivals, and lots of jam sessions.
At 19, Ed’s older sister returned from a visit to Mexico and recounted how the local musicians would get on the bus,play a few songs, and pass the hat. It was, quite simply, the most romantic thing he had ever heard of, and quickly headed to New Orleans where he was told this kind of thing took place openly on the streets.
For the next 13 years, the French Quarter then became ‘home base’ playing many different venues with many different musicians. Living a rather Bohemian lifestyle, included in this time frame was a year long stay in Europe, touring the country playing college concerts, living in Nashville as a fiddle player on the Grand Old Opry, and much more.
In 1980, Ed found himself becoming extremely attracted to Hungarian Gypsy music, and in 1982 he went to Budapest (then still a city in the Eastern bloc) and immersed himself in learning about that style of playing from a gypsy family that had taken a liking to him. After a year and a half in Hungary, Ed went back ‘west’ to Vienna for a time and came back to the states sometime in 1985 and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio where he combined his recently cultivated craft of European cafe music with his older street music background, and ‘took it up’ to the level of strolling musician.
Professionally, this led Ed again on a journey of some wonderful travel opportunities and residences that included Detroit, the Florida Keys, and Ft. Lauderdale where Ed currently lives with his beautiful wife, three wonderful children, and a comfortable home in Tamarac.
For more information about Ed or to book him for your next event, visit: www.StrollingMusician.com