Results for "guitar"

Vic Juris

Born: September 26, 1953

FROM THE WILDS OF MANHATTAN to the shores of Japan and Germany, jazz guitarist Vic Juris has covered an impressive range of territory, musically as well as geographically. Inspired by rock and roll legend Chuck Berry, the Jersey City native first picked up a guitar at the age of ten. With no musicians in the family, he taught himself to play and was soon appearing with rock and R&B bands throughout the tri-state area. But the young rocker's taste soon changed.

In his late teens Vic discovered jazz and classical music. He was hooked. From there it was on to a career with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Phil Woods, Jimmy Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Chico Hamilton, Dave Liebman, Richie Cole, Mel Torme, Eddie Jefferson and Nancy Wilson.

Rodney Jones

Born: August 30, 1956

Coming soon.

Randy Johnston

Electric blues meets bebop with contemporary influences. An exciting convergence of sounds that has made Randy Johnston one of the hottest jazz guitarists both in the United States and abroad. January 2006 marked the release of "Randy Johnston Live", a full length DVD trio recording. This comes on the heels of the audio CD "Is It You?" which was a major hit on jazz radio in 2005. His previous eight CDs "Hit and Run","Detour Ahead", "Homage", "Riding the Curve", "Somewhere in the Night", "In-A-Chord", "Jubilation", and "Walk On" have all recieved critical acclaim and commercial success. Johnston's recordings have throught the years featured an impressive array of sidemen including Grady Tate, Joey De Francesco, Benny Green, Eric Alexander, Idris Muhammad, and the legendary Johnny Griffin among others

Lonnie Johnson

Born: February 8, 1899

Lonnie Johnson was the “governor” of blues guitar in the 1920’s. His playing combined incredibly fast melodic runs with evocative blues licks. His playing was the forerunner of jazz and rock guitar. Lonnie Johnson’s playing is highly challenging, provocative and exciting. His recordings from the 1920s were highly influential among bluesmen and widely imitated. His incredible skill on the fingerboard also made him popular among jazz players. Lonnie recorded countless solo records as well as accompanying Texas Alexander, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Eddie Lang. Though he did not possess a country blues background, the New Orleans-born guitarist exemplified a high caliber of musicianship while retaining a strong feeling for the blues

Eric Johnson

ric Johnson has been traveling on a prolific odyssey over the course of more than four decades. Along the way, his creations have encompassed repertoire that cross pollinate genres which include rock, blues, jazz, fusion, soul, folk, new-age, classical and even country. Inevitably E.J. says it best himself in sharing. “It really boils down to the music and the song at the end of the day,” he explains. “If it doesn’t have that it gets boring for me. The most important thing for me is to grow musically and make a more expansive and meaningful artistic statement with every new project.” As another decade turns, the guitarist, vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist will release a new studio offering titled EJ Vol II

Michael Gregory Jackson

Born: August 28, 1953

Michael Gregory Jackson is an American guitarist and composer celebrated for his innovative contributions across genres such as jazz, R&B, avant-garde, rock, blues, and free jazz. His musical journey has influenced numerous contemporary musicians and guitarists, including Vernon Reid, Bill Frisell, Brandon Ross, Mary Halvorson and Nels Cline, to name a few.

Jackson’s early musical foundation was shaped by his exposure to his father’s jazz collection and his own fascination with musical exploration untethered to genre, from Stravinsky and Coltrane to Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and Pharaoh Sanders. He began playing the guitar at the age of seven, and by his teenage years, he was delving into a diverse array of musical styles, from early rock, indigenous music, avant-garde jazz, and classical music of many periods.

Levon Ichkhanian

Contemporary jazz with world beat overtones aptly describes the music of Canadian/Armenian multi-instrumentalist/composer Levon Ichkhanian. A third generation musician and artist of great versatility, Levon is proficient on the fretted and fretless guitars,oud, bouzouki and banjitar. Levon's musical odyssey first took shape in Lebanon. This is how he describes it: "I had several monumental experiences growing up which had a rich influence on me culturally and musically. My Dad exposed me to jazz and continental music letting me sit in during his band rehearsal, and as the musical director for shows, the family would travel with him to places like Yemen, Jordan and Cyprus. Classical and flamenco guitar music were introduced to me by my Uncles Joseph and Jaques

Roni Ben-Hur

Jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur has earned a sterling reputation as a musician and educator, renowned for his golden tone, improvisational brilliance, compositional lyricism and ability to charm peers, students and listeners alike. Eminent jazz critic Gary Giddins wrote in the Village Voice: “A limber and inventive guitarist, Ben-Hur keeps the flame alive and pure, burning in every note… He’s a guitarist who knows the changes and his own mind.” Roni — born in Israel in 1962 but a longtime American citizen, based in the New York City area — has recorded a dozen-plus albums as leader or co-leader, with The New York Times praising his “crisp, fluid style” and Time Out New York calling him “a formidable and consummately lyrical guitarist.” He has developed a rare facility in both straight-ahead jazz and samba/bossa-nova styles, underscored by his work with masters in each field, from bebop piano sage Barry Harris and winds ace Frank Wess to beloved Brazilian vocalist Leny Andrade and composer Marcus Valle. 

Toninho Horta

Toninho Horta is a virtuoso electric and nylon-string guitar player; his music could be defined as (jazz influenced) Brazilian music. He has developed his own very personal style. His compositions are marked by beautiful harmonies and rich melodies often with surprisingly virtuoso right hand grooves. Besides being a strong composer and player, he worked many years as arranger or/and guitarist for many of the biggest stars in the Brazilian pop music scene such as: Elis Regina, Milton Nascimento, Maria Bethania, Joao Bosco, Airto Moreira, Edu Lobo, Nana Caymmi, Flora Purim, Gal Costa, Sergio Mendes, Chico Buarque, Flavio Venturini, Joyce, Johnny Alf, Wagner Tiso, Francis Hime and Beto Guedes (to mention but a few).

His beautiful compositions and original guitar playing has influenced a whole generation of musicians in Brazil

Lightnin' Hopkins

Born: March 15, 1912

Lightnin’ Hopkins embodied the blues. His singing, guitar playing, his physical appearance, personality, and demeanor, were the blues. One of the most recognizable bluesmen to come out of Texas, Lightnin’ Hopkins went on to stake out an enduring and productive career with his own spontaneous and eclectic style of haunting vocals and accompanying guitar. Sam Lightnin’ Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas, on March 15, 1912. After his father died in 1915, the family (Sam, his mother and five brothers and sisters) moved to Leona. At age eight he made his first instrument, a cigar-box guitar with chicken-wire strings