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Nathan Borton

Hailing from Wichita, Kansas, Nathan Borton is a Michigan based Jazz guitar player that draws heavily from the mid-western tradition of bebop and the blues. Nathan has played with and alongside names such as: Rodney Whitaker, Michael Dease, Paul Keller, Diego Rivera, and Tom Knific. He has also performed at various music festivals including: the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, the East Lansing Jazz Festival, the Michigan Jazz Festival, and the Wichita Jazz Festival.

Currently, Nathan is releasing his debut album, “Each Step” through Origin Records. The record, produced by Randy Napoleon, is set for release January 2022, and has already gained praise from the likes of trombone giant Michael Dease and Benedetto CEO Howard Paul. Nathan was also a winner of the 2019 Wilson Center International Guitar Competition located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as placing as a finalist in 2018. He won two Downbeat awards in 2019 for Best Graduate Jazz Soloist and Best Live Engineering/Production, as well as winning the Paul Carr Discovery Act Award in 2020 with the Sencalar/Glassman Quintet.

Nathan is an avid educator of music as well. He currently teaches at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI, at Hope College, in Holland, MI, and at the Michigan State Community Music School in Detroit, MI. Nathan has also taught and mentored at various camps around the nation such as: The Brevard Jazz Institute in Brevard, North Carolina and The Spectrum Music Camp in East Lansing, Michigan. During the COVID-19 lockdown Nathan started an educational YouTube channel, which has since grown into an international Jazz hub providing information for students around the world. He has collaborated with many famous educators including Jens Larson and Christiaan Van Hemert.

Awards

-Endorser of Benedetto Guitars, Savannah, GA -Origin/OA2 Records Artist, Seattle, WA -Paul Carr Discover Act Winner w/ Sencalar/Glassman Quintet -3rd Place Winner | Wilson Center International Guitar Competition, Milwaukee, WI -Downbeat Student Artist Award: “Outstanding Performance-Jazz Soloist” -Downbeat Student Artist Award: “Outstanding Live Recording” (Audio Engineering)


Tags

24
Album Review

TechnoCats: The Music of Gregg Hill

Read "The Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The TechnoCats are a group of five talented young musicians, each of whom has ties to Michigan State University in East Lansing, as does composer (and co-producer) Gregg Hill, whose music the TechnoCats perform on this delightful album. One of the quintet's more diverting features is that the only horn is Chris Glassman's bass trombone; another is how seamlessly Glassman's axe blends with those of guitarist Nathan Borton and pianist Xavier Davis. That is made clear from the ...

20
Album Review

Nathan Borton: Each Step

Read "Each Step" reviewed by Jane Kozhevnikova


Each Step is the debut recording by guitarist Nathan Borton. As his website accurately states, Borton draws heavily from the mid-western tradition of bebop and blues. His influences include Wes Montgomery, Grant Green and Kenny Burrell. The album offers an enjoyable tour through the straight-ahead tradition. There are three standards early on: Cole Porter's “Just One of Those Things," Harry Warren's “The More I See You" and John Lewis' “Milestones." These show the virtuosity of Borton's solo lines. ...

38
Album Review

Nathan Borton: Each Step

Read "Each Step" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Judging from recent album releases, the guitar remains an essential part of the contemporary jazz scene. The latest example among many is this tasteful session led by Kansas-born, Michigan-based Nathan Borton, adding his name to an ample roster of newly minted guitar-led or guitar-centered albums by Doug MacDonald, Graham Dechter, Kristian Borring, Randy Napoleon, John Moulder, Hendrik Braeckman, Paul Bollenback, Matt Dingledine and others. What does Borton have that they may not? When it comes to technique and perception—that is, ...

13
Album Review

Nathan Borton: Each Step

Read "Each Step" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The 1960s were fine and formative times for jazz guitar. Wes Montgomery was there. So was Grant Green. The pair led the pack, and still do, to an extent. Guitarist Nathan Borton, with his debut recording, Each Step, embraces the traditions of these two influences. Borton's sound comes directly out of the straight ahead bebop style, beginning with the album's title tune, a Borton original--a gorgeous easy swinger. Cole Porter's oft-covered “Just One Of Those Things" turns up ...

7
Album Review

Sencalar/Glassman Quintet: Realization

Read "Realization" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian


Altin Sencalar and Chris Glassman were classmates in graduate school at Michigan State University (MSU) where they were both trombonist MIchael Dease's proteges. When they decided to release their debut, the exciting Realization, their mentor produced the record, contributed a tune and made a guest appearance on the opening track. For this bop-based session Sencalar and Glassman recruited a band of both up-and-coming and established musicians. The result is a very cohesive quintet/sextet which effortlessly, and with supreme ...

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“Borton makes being a hip, swinging, soulful guitar player, relevant again.” -MICHAEL DEASE

“Nathan is a rare talent who has mastered jazz pedagogy, technique, tone and that oh-so-hard-to-capture feel that makes him a complete guitarist. Nathan is exactly the kind of young guitarist that Benedetto seeks to usher in the next generation jazz guitarist.” -HOWARD PAUL

“Nathan has the patience and maturity of a player many years his senior. His phrasing is excellent and he isn’t afraid to let his beautiful tone ring out. The future of this music is in good hands if Nathan is any indication.” -XAVIER DAVIS

Primary Instrument

Guitar

Location

Lansing

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

Nathan is an avid educator of music as well. He currently teaches at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI, at Hope College, in Holland, MI, and at the Michigan State Community Music School in Detroit, MI. Nathan has also taught and mentored at various camps around the nation such as: The Brevard Jazz Institute in Brevard, North Carolina and The Spectrum Music Camp in East Lansing, Michigan. During the COVID-19 lockdown Nathan started an educational YouTube channel, which has since grown into an international Jazz hub providing information for students around the world

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Music of Gregg...

Cold Plunge Records
2023

buy

Each Step

OA2 Records
2022

buy

Realization

D-Clef Records
2020

buy

The Solitude Sessions

Self Produced
2020

buy

Each Step

From: Each Step
By Nathan Borton

Realization

From: Realization
By Nathan Borton

Videos

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