A talented guitarist since the late 1980's, Margaret Slovak finally came out with her debut recording in 1998, an introspective set of unaccompanied solos, Undying Hope. She began playing guitar when she was 12 and was working professionally four years later. Slovak studied jazz and classical music plus visual art, graduating from the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle in 1986. She furthered her education by attending the Kansas City Art Institute, the University of Missouri Conservatory of Music and studying with such musicians as Ralph Towner, John Abercrombie and Kenny Wheeler. She spent two years in Denver and then during 1988-93 lived in New York, playing in local clubs and leading her own group. Among the musicians who she performed with where Fred Hersch, Michael Formanek and Art Lande. In 1994, Slovak moved to Portland, Oregon. She toured Germany and the Czech Republic in the fall of 1996 and appeared locally throughout the Pacific Northwest. In addition to her perormances, Margaret Slovak teaches guitar (both at colleges and privately) and is a painter. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide