French-Algerian music artist Pierre Bensusan celebrates 50th anniversary of his career in Cedar Rapids

Pierre Bensusan is a student of music, and that's had a huge impact on his material. The French-Algerian acoustic guitarist loves such late legends as Big Bill Broonzy, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt and Doc Watson.

"You learn so much by listening to what those people did," Bensusan said while calling from Minneapolis. "I'm a musician, but I'm also a fan."

Bensusan, 67, is an unabashed Joni Mitchell aficionado. After Bensusan performed in Iowa City a decade ago, he was taken aback by who greeted him after the concert.

"This guy walked up to me after I performed and said, ‘Great show. I'm Chuck Mitchell. My former wife is Joni Mitchell.' I never forgot that. It's an Iowa City memory that stays with me,“ Bensusan said.

Bensusan, who will perform Saturday, Aug. 16 at CSPS Hall, went on to wax about Mitchell. They share some of the same traits since each is uncompromising and adventurous. Bensusan is also an eclectic recording artist, who plays Celtic, folk, world music, New Age and chamber jazz.

"Performing different styles of music makes it interesting for me," Bensusan said. "I like a good challenge and love doing different things."

The latest challenge for Bensusan is adapting a Chinese song, "Hill," to his guitar style.

"When I was in China, I was listening to ‘Hill,’ which is a very famous song there," Bensusan said. "I was compelled to record it. I enjoy China so much. It's a (nearly) 5,000 year old country. It's fascinating, and the people there are so welcoming. I bought the rights to the song and made an instrumental version that I hope to play when I return to Iowa City. People here should listen to music from around the world. Music is like a bridge. You get to know the music and then the people in the country. You learn about their political system and how they live. Music is the bridge to enlightenment."

Bensusan is a guitar whiz, who is self taught. "I learned my own way starting when I was six years old," Bensusan said. "I didn't want to take lessons. Music and my guitar have been my companion since I was a kid. I experimented playing in different tunings and I finally found what was best for me as a player."

Bensusan plays in the DADGAD tuning, which is an alternative guitar tuning that is usually associated with Celtic music, though it has also been found in rock, folk and metal. Instead of the standard tuning, the six guitar strings are tuned from low to high.

"It's simply a style of play that works for me," Bensusan said. "I've been going that way for awhile now."

Bensusan is an uncommon guitarist, who has no problem playing three parts in a couple of different time signatures in a song. The impact is a textured sound.

"Maybe it's a very different story for me in terms of my guitar style if I wasn't self taught," Bensusan said. "This is just what I do."

Bensusan is working on an album of covers. "People know me from my original work, but I love playing other people's stuff," Bensusan said.

The covers are fun, but what's special is Bensusan's original tunes. "Demain Des L'Aube" features a gorgeous mellow melody set to a Victor Hugo poem. "En Route From Scarborough“ is a stunner, which inverts the melody from the Simon and Garfunkel classic "Scarborough Fair."

"So Long Michael," a song dedicated to the late guitar great Michael Hedges, is gentle and soulful.

Bensusan has the uncommon ability to combine technical precision with emotional playing that touches hearts.

"I'm 67 and I've been doing this since I was 16," Bensusan said. "I'm glad to have touched so many people. This is not a job. Traveling is like a job, but performing has always been such a joy for me, and I love that I can continue to go out there and perform in front of an audience."