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Dom Minasi

It’s not common to hear a guitarist mentioned in the same vein as adventurous players like Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane and Cecil Taylor, but Dom Minasi is not your common type of guitarist. Like many highly creative artists, Dom needs a variety of contexts to express the full range of his musical vision by maintaining several separate groups, Born on March 6, 1943 (sharing a birthday with legendary guitarist Wes Montgomery), Dom is a 50-year veteran of the music scene, with a history and scope of activities as varied and jam-packed as his native New York City. Backing up top singing groups at rock 'n' roll shows, church dances and the like while still in his early teens, Dom has maintained a jazz trio with bass and drums since he was 15 years old. But education has also played a major role in his overall musical activities. "By the time I was 20, I had more than 100 students, but I cut it down to 95 so I could play six nights a week." A lot of those nights were spent backing up, and providing musical direction for vocalists, something that Dom has continued to do since 1964 and almost exclusively until 1973, when his own trio began to really take shape, coming to the attention of George Butler who had taken the reins at Blue Note from the label's visionary founder and producer, Alfred Lion. After recording two albums for Blue Note, When Joanna Loved Me and I Have The Feeling I’ve Been Here Before, Dom felt the business of Jazz was not for him So from 1976-1993, Dom involved himself in a variety of pursuits such as freelancing, recording dates as a sideman, and occasionally performing with the late, great pianist Dennis Moorman and his organ quartet featuring Dr. Lonnie Smith. Composing the music for a variety of off-Broadway shows, authoring three books for Sunrise Artistries, two books on jazz theory and chord substitution and one on improvising. Returning to school where he studied with Academy Award-winning (The Red Violin) composer John Corigliano at Lehman College, receiving his degree in composition in 1990. He also composed over 300 vocal and instrumental compositions during those years, as well as creating Literacy Through Songwriting Workshops for grades one through six for the New York City Board of Ed. Fellow musicians kept trying to get Dom more involved with the regular scene but he continued to resist.

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Tags

"One of New York’s best kept secrets is finally “getting out”. Hooray!" Jim Hall

“I am knocked out by Dom's creative and original guitar playing".

Henry Kaiser

“A true Jazz original ” Bill Milkowski

“Minasi stuns...he coaxes dark emotive chords like a dusky snake charmer wooing a cobra from awoven basket...” Derek Taylor All Music Guide to Jazz

“In the manner of Eric Dolphy...Minasi works over the harmonic and rhythmic material of each song in an extraordinary manner, managing to go places where few lesser guitarists would venture.” Cadence Magazine

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Primary Instrument

Guitar

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Marquis Studios and Young Audiences: Using the blues as a basis, Dom created a program using poetry put to music in blues, rock 'n roll, rap, jazz, Latin music, and well known children's books to teach literacy through songwriting."

Kingsborough Community College and Lehman College: Guitar Ensembles, The Singers Forum, Classes in Jazz Vocalization and Reading Rhythms

American Institute of Guitar, The Guitar Workshop: Classes in harmony, theory and improvisation

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John Coltrane
saxophone
Miles Davis
trumpet
Eric Dolphy
woodwinds
Tal Farlow
guitar
Jim Hall
guitar
Jimmy Raney
guitar, electric

Photos

Album Discography

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Soldano Dieci Anni

Unseen Rain Records
2022

buy

Eight Hands One Mind

Unseen Rain Records
2021

buy

Me Myself and I

Unseen Rain Records
2021

buy

Freeland

Cirko Records
2019

buy

Remembering Cecil

Unseen Rain Records
2019

buy

Manna for Thought

Self Produced
2018

buy

The Color of Her Eys Is Gray

From: Me Myself and I
By Dom Minasi

Gentle

From: Me Myself and I
By Dom Minasi

Samba De Domingo

From: Me Myself and I
By Dom Minasi

Brown Eyes

From: Freeland
By Dom Minasi

Chasing Bulls

From: Allivium
By Dom Minasi

Angel's Dance

From: Angel's Dance
By Dom Minasi

The Day After Next

From: Goin' Out Again
By Dom Minasi

Strange

From: Blaise Siwula Dom Minasi Live...
By Dom Minasi

The Vampire's Revenge

From: The Vampire's Revenge
By Dom Minasi

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