Guitarist Reed Shimozawa brings classic David Bowie album alive at Jack Singer

Reed Shimozawa discusses his April 3 performance of David Bowie’s classic album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' with Ian White.

From Queen to U2 to Heart, Calgary guitarist Reed Shimozawa has a handle on classic rock.

His latest venture into the genre includes David Bowie’s 1972 concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

“He must have seemed, well, like an alien, when he burst onto the scene with this album, because it broke a lot of ground in so many ways – his songwriting, the direction of it, the concept, his appearance, everything,” Shimozawa told CTV News.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Shimozawa takes over the guitar parts of the late Mick Ronson in Classic Albums Live’s presentation of Ziggy Stardust Thursday, April 3 at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.

“It’s not a visual tribute. It’s entirely driven by music,” Shimozawa said of the show, which starts with a track-by-track performance of the entire album, with the second half focused on other Bowie hits.

This is the latest gig for Shimozawa, who also plays bass with Wide Mouth Mason.

“It’s become a very fulfilling endeavour of mine to play music on a different instrument and to find my own voice. Certainly, they are amazing musicians and it’s an honour to play with those guys.”