Saturday, March 13, 2010

Internationally renowned jazz guitarist John Stein was born and raised in Kansas City

Internationally renowned jazz guitarist John Stein was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri USA where he took up his instrument at an early age. His talent for and love of music ultimately earned him a faculty position at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he is an Associate Professor in the Harmony Department.

John has performed as a leader or a sideman with some of America's finest jazz acts. John's compositions and performances cover the spectrum of jazz, from blues to bebop to bossas to swing. John has toured in the United States as well as in Brazil, Germany, France and Switzerland. John has published educational columns in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine for many years. He has compiled the materials into two books that are now available: Composing Blues For Jazz Performance, and Composing Tunes For Jazz Performance.


John's most recent recording, Raising The Roof, Whaling City Sound [WSC 050], was released on January 12th, 2010, and features John along with the superb musicianship of Koichi Sato from Japan, John Lockwood who is originally from South Africa, and Zé Eduardo Nazario from Brazil - truly world music in the best sense! Raising The Roof follows on the heels of John's successful 2008 release Encounterpoint and uses the same musicians.

Encounterpoint, Whaling City Sound [WSC 042], contains an excellent mixture of original compositions and standards, and the recording captures the energy and sophistication that all 4 virtuoso musicians brought to the session. John's recording, Green Street, featuring reed-playing legend David "Fathead" Newman, was originally released in 1999 to critical acclaim. Green Street is a classic organ-jazz recording, and has now been re-released by Whaling City Sound [WSC 039]. It is re-mixed, re-mastered, and features two bonus tracks not on the original release, along with extra liner notes and photographs.

John's recording, Concerto Internacional de Jazz, was released on the Whaling City Sound Label [WCS 031]. Recorded in Brazil during a concert tour, Concerto Internacional de Jazz is a collaboration between John and some of Brasil's most prominent jazz musicians. Flavored by the combined sensibilities of two distinct musical cultures, Concerto Internacional de Jazz features a wonderful variety of musical textures and moods, excellent originals, and an interesting selection of standards.

John's debut CD, Hustle Up! [KFW 172], released in 1995 on Tightly Knit Records a subsidiary of Knitting Factory Works, displays his many talents: as a leader, composer, arranger, producer, soloist, and ensemble performer. John is also featured on the wonderful recording, Ron Gill Sings the Songs of Billy Strayhorn, [WGBH 1001] released in December 1997, by WGBH Radio in Boston. The Ron Gill band, with John on guitar, was videotaped by WGBH television for presentation on its program, Basic Black in 1998, and is regularly re-aired. John's third release, in 2000, Portraits and Landscapes [Jardis Records, JRCD 20029] features Larry Goldings on piano and organ.

Conversation Pieces [Jardis Records, JRCD 20140] released in January 2002, is John's second collaboration with David "Fathead" Newman. Interplay, on [Azica Records, AJD 72226], was released in 2004 and features John with Yoron Israel on drums, and John Lockwood on bass. The trio's telepathic interaction and superb musicianship generates many spontaneous and exceptional moments. "My music is the result of a lifetime's involvement with my instrument, the guitar, and many hours studying theory, composition, arranging, and musical history," says John. His warm and deeply expressive creative jazz performances move and excite audiences wherever he appears.
http://johnstein.com/
http://www.mixedmediapromo.com/


The John Stein Trio, with Frank Herzberg and Zé Eduardo Nazario, live in Pouso Alegre, Brazil.

John Stein, guitar
Frank Herzberg, acoustic bass
Zé Eduardo Nazario, drums

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