Tim Sparks, born on October 31, 1954, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is an American acoustic guitarist and composer. He taught himself to play traditional country blues and gospel music after receiving his first guitar during a year-long absence from school due to encephalitis. Tim Sparks studied the classics with Jesús Silva at the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts. In 1993, he won the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship playing his adaptation of The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky. He has released several albums, including Guitar Bazaar (1995), Neshamah (1999), and At the Rebbe’s Table (2002). Tim Sparks collaborated with John Zorn on highly acclaimed CDs of Jewish Klezmer music adapted for acoustic fingerstyle guitar under the label Tzadik Records. He has performed with various artists such as Dolly Parton and Cyro Baptista. He continues to perform in concert.
