Updated: January 12, 2022
Born: March 11, 1993
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
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All About Jazz Articles
Album Review
- Each Step by Dan McClenaghan
- Realization by Hrayr Attarian
“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
Kenny Burrell
guitar, electric
Grant Green
guitar
Wes Montgomery
guitar
Rodney Whitaker
bass
