Gary Eskow’s musical journey began in first grade, when he begged his mother to let him take piano lessons two years before the John F. Hughes Elementary School in Utica, New York typically allowed children to start. She relented, and although he was never particularly interested in practicing, his lifelong immersion in music had begun.

“Movie themes like “Days of Wine and Roses,” “Moon River,” and most of all “Theme from A Summer Place” tugged at me,” Eskow recalls. “The sense of longing grabbed me.” By fourth or fifth grade, he began guitar lessons with Gene Rice, a gifted player and Chet Atkins devotee who would later become a successful engineer and producer in Nashville. “I knuckled down and pushed myself to develop the best technique I could.”

Drawn in by the British Invasion, surf music, pop, and soul, Eskow eventually found a deep connection to the blues. “All of the Kings (B.B., Freddie, and especially Albert) captured my attention. No matter what style I’m writing in, the blues is always part of my language.” At 18, he took up classical guitar, opening the door to the world of classical music. Bach’s lute suites sparked a fascination with Baroque counterpoint, inspiring him to study scores from many eras. After graduating from Albany State University, Eskow spent a year at the Mannes College of Music studying under Fred Hand—“without a doubt the greatest player of his generation”—and later earned a Master’s degree in Music Theory from Queens College.

A decade spent writing and producing music for the advertising industry also played a critical role in shaping Eskow’s style. “People look down their noses at the ‘jingle’ business, but it was a great puzzle—one I worked hard to solve. Could I stay true to my own instincts while still connecting with a broad audience? Sometimes yes, sometimes no! Working with top session musicians in New York City, and having to deliver finished tracks on extremely short deadlines, taught me a tremendous amount about how to produce records.”

Having learned all that the commercial music business had to offer, and with the demands of a young family pressing upon him, Eskow took a left turn. “I had the opportunity to go into the laundry business installing washers and dryers in apartment complexes, servicing them, and splitting the income with management. At first, I thought I was admitting failure, but the opposite turned out to be true for several reasons. One day, while examining a washing machine to figure out why it wasn’t working, I suddenly understood—or thought I did—why Da Vinci was so fascinated with gears. If I could learn how this equipment (a relatively closed system) operated, then I could take that lesson and apply it to music. And I did!”

“Not long after starting my company, Topspin Systems, named for the tennis stroke familiar to all players, of which I am one, I came across a book of Charles Ives letters (Selected Correspondence of Charles Ives). In one letter, Ives wrote: ‘My business experience revealed life to me in many aspects that I might otherwise have missed. In it one sees tragedy, nobility, meanness, high aims, low aims, brave hopes, faint hopes, great ideals, no ideals …’ I couldn’t agree more!”

The financial independence Eskow gained from his work in the industry has allowed him to create a substantial body of work without relying on commissions or pursuing academic employment. He simply keeps turning the wheel. Many Streams, One River (Volumes One through Three), now available on Navona Records, represents the best of his output to date.