Minoru plays guitar and guitar synthesizer; as a composer, arranger, programmer & producer. He is Japanese born and bred, now living in Osaka Japan. When he was a child, he had never been interested in playing music at all. At the age of 19,he bought Led Zep's.4th album;That was the first time he bought a rock album. Then Jimmy Page became his... [+] Read More

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One of the finest guitarists to emerge after the death of Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel was a reliable bop soloist throughout his career. He played with a big band fronted by Chico Marx (1943), was fortunate enough to appear in the classic jazz short Jammin' the Blues (1944), and then worked with the big bands of Charlie Barnet (1944-1945)... [+] Read More

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Freddie Green was known throughout his long career as the definitive rhythm guitarist. He rarely soloed (briefly on a few records early on), he stuck to acoustic guitar, and was often more felt than heard. Although he had originally played banjo, Green was playing guitar in New York in early 1937 when producer John Hammond heard him and... [+] Read More

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Grant Green was born in St. Louis on June 6, 1931, learned his instrument in grade school from his guitar-playing father and was playing professionally by the age of thirteen with a gospel group. He worked gigs in his home town and in East St. Louis, IL, until he moved to New York in 1960 at the suggestion of Lou Donaldson. Green told Dan... [+] Read More

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An excellent bop-based guitarist with a slight country twang to his sound, Herb Ellis became famous playing with the Oscar Peterson Trio during 1953-1958. Prior to that, he had attended North Texas State University and played with the Casa Loma Orchestra, Jimmy Dorsey (1945-1947), and the sadly under-recorded trio Soft Winds. While with... [+] Read More

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Howard Roberts was a talented guitarist on the level of a Barney Kessel or Herb Ellis, who spent most of his career playing commercial music in the studios. Shortly after he moved to Los Angeles in 1950, Roberts was firmly established in the studios, although on occasion he recorded jazz (most notably twice for Verve during 1956-1959, a Concord... [+] Read More

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On the Northeastern folk circuit, guitarist John Sheehan established himself as an independent thinker and a rugged individualist who championed the finger-style techniques of musicians as diverse as Julian Bream, Doc Watson, John Fahey, and Joe Pass.

Sheehan began work in 2001 on new songs and instrumentals for his third CD, Notes... [+] Read More

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Kenny Burrell has been a very consistent guitarist throughout his career. Cool-toned and playing in an unchanging style based in bop, Burrell has always been the epitome of good taste and solid swing. Duke Ellington's favorite guitarist (though he never actually recorded with him), Burrell started playing guitar when he was 12, and he debuted on... [+] Read More

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"Based in Los Angeles, Larry Martus boldly goes solo for his debut recording, even more boldly featuring an all-original playlist. Martus has been playing guitar since age 11 after first experimenting with trumpet and other instruments. Initially studying classical guitar, he was drawn to the music of Pat Metheny, John Scofield, John McLaughlin... [+] Read More

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A graduate of the Musicians Institute of Technology in Los Angeles, Scott MacGregor is a jazz guitarist who also combines elements of new-age and classical music into his unique style. In 2003, he released his first CD: "Me, Myself & I", a solo jazz guitar effort which features original music and jazz standards. Songs from the CD are receiving... [+] Read More

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