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Craig Buhler

Craig is the sax man in "HONK", director of the Hidden Valley Big Band Workshop in Carmel, CA.

About Me

Craig Buhler is the sax man in “HONK”, director of the Hidden Valley Big Band Workshop in Carmel, CA., and lead alto with the Sequim, WA big band “Stardust.” Among his 30+ recording credits are 9 CD’s under his own name. He now produces popular music videos for YouTube in both the jazz and contemporary Christian genres. HONK, toured nationally with the Beach Boys, Loggins & Messina, Chicago, Santana, and others before audiences of 10,000+, has released 5 CDs, and continues to sell out San Juan Capistrano’s 500-seat Coach House Theater as well as other California venues. Craig is the author of 2 books on music: • “New Ears Resolution” is a revolutionary new ear training method which has proven effective with scores of students on many instruments. • “Keys to Music” is a complete course in jazz woodwind technique which includes 54 original etudes. Each collection comes with an accompanying CD. Craig is former Worship Director for the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Seattle. He has played for international church conferences as well as 70+ NW congregations. In addition to Craig’s 3 original worship recordings, he appears on CDs by Vineyard artists Andy Park, Kevin Prosch, & Brian Doerksen. Craig has presented his 2-day “Total Immersion” seminar for worship musicians to churches in 5 states (CA, ID, BC, WA, AK) Craig’s “Jazz For Youth” band has performed at over a hundred school assemblies, religious conferences, and civic functions and has produced a CD. He is former Woodwind Instructor for Mills Music stores in Bothell, Redmond & Lynnwood, WA, and now offers private instruction in clarinet, saxophone, flute, ear training, and improvisation at his studio in Sequim, WA and via Zoom video. In 1979, Craig toured & recorded with British singer Ian Matthews. Before this, he spent 3 years with the jazz group “Storyville,” which released an LP and appeared all over California, including concerts with Dizzy Gillespie and the Crusaders. As a UCLA music major, he studied clarinet with Mitchell Lurie, saxophone & flute with Bill Green, ear training with Alvin L. Learned, and composition with Doug Leedy & Paul Chihara. In 1987, he earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Washington. Craig Buhler and his wife Faye live in Sequim, WA His favorite hobbies are hiking and cold saltwater swimming. www.craigbuhler.com

My Jazz Story

The first jazz record I bought was Herbie Hancock's first LP "Takin' Off" featuring Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins. That's still one of my "desert island" favorites, and it introduced me to Dexter, who is still a huge influence. Hearing Dexter live was one of those life changing experiences, comparable to the time I heard Sonny Rollins in person with his trio.