‘My music is maybe hard to categorize,” guitarist Leo Kottke says in his bio. “It doesn’t fit conveniently into the bins at record stores. That works for me, though.”

He’s right, for the most part. It’s difficult to know where in a record store you should look to find the acoustic wizardry Kottke has laid to tape over the past 40 years. Is he in the folk section? Perhaps blues? Is there a rack of CDs for singularly talented guitarists who’ve transcended the musical world through their skill, ambition and vision?

In the gigantic Amoeba Records shop in Hollywood, Calif., there is a small segment of shelves dedicated to Kottke and his ilk. It’s loosely labeled “New Folk” (plus other descriptors) and it covers not only Kottke and his contemporaries — John Fahey and Robbie Basho, especially — but also the current generation of six-string virtuosos, such as Jack Rose and James Blackshaw. (The reason for the section, no doubt, was the rise of mid-2000s freak-folkers like Devendra Banhart, who claim a heavy influence from the Fahey/Kottke/Basho lineage.)

This section of the store is small and out of the way, much like this type of music. But it’s a deep pool worthy of immersion. Those who dive in will discover that Fahey is the paragon, and Basho no slouch, but Kottke is the only one you can see and hear live today. And you should. His fretwork is dazzling and his sound is deep and resonant, with the buzz of old-time delta blues, the strangeness of the 1960s and the flair of the 21st century.

Kottke’s official Web site is at www.leokottke.com, but do yourself a favor and visit a MySpace profile maintained by a “rabid fan” at www.myspace .com/61328137. There, you can hear the man’s music, watch his fingers fly and fully understand why Leo Kottke is a record store clerk’s nightmare and a music lover’s dream.

Leo Kottke ; 7 p.m. Saturday; $40 and $51, available through the Tower Theatre box office at the contact info below; Tower Theatre, 835 N.W. Wall St., Bend; 541-317-0700 or www.tower theatre.org.

— Ben Salmon