Community Corner
OSPAC GUITAR FESTIVAL
tickets
When
an entire afternoon is dedicated to the virtuosity of guitar players,
the action onstage gets hot. That’s what we have in store for you at
OSPAC on Sunday August 3 when we launch the first OSPAC GUITAR FESTIVAL.
MAK GRGIC
Born
in Ljubljana, Slovenia, he studied guitar in Zagreb with the revered
Ante Cagalj at the Elly Basic Conservatory of Music and obtained his
Bachelor's Degree with Alvaro Pierri at the Universitaet fuer Musik und
darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria. At the moment he is pursuing his
Doctoral Degree at the USC Thornton School of Music as a student of
William Kanengiser and Scott Tennant of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.
He is also a teaching assistant at USC under the direction of Brian
Head.
Mak
recently took first prize at the Guitar Competition "Luigi Mozzani" in
Italy and has been honored with highest prizes at: the Andres Segovia
International Competition for young guitarists in Velbert, Germany, the
Forum Gitarre Wien International Competition in Vienna, Austria, the
International Guitar Competition in Arrenzano, Italy, the Anna Amalia
Competition for young guitarists in Weimar, Germany, the International
Guitarart Festival and Competition in Belgrade, Serbia and the European
Classical Guitar Competition "Enrico Mercatali" in Italy.
DAVE STRYKER
Whether you’ve heard guitarist Dave Stryker leading his own group (with 25 CD’s
as a leader to date), co-leading The Stryker/Slagle Band, or as a
featured sideman with Stanley Turrentine, Jack McDuff, and many others,
you know why the Village Voice calls him “one of the most distinctive
guitarists to come along in recent years.”
Dave’s new CD “Eight Track” (available now),
is a celebration of classic pop tunes from the 70′s reimagined by his
working trio. Dave’s guitar is joined by Jared Gold on Hammond B3 organ,
and McClenty Hunter on drums with special guest Stefon Harris on
vibraphone. Dave was recently voted into the 2013 Downbeat Critics and
Readers Poll for the 6th time.
… One of the most joyous feels around. -Pat Metheny
BOB DEVOS
With
horn like, blues-drenched lines and a warm, fat sound, Bob DeVos has an
enthusiastic following for his signature mix of groove and
sophistication. His trio's tight-knit performances of jazz standards,
Rhythm & Blues, ballads, and Bob's hip compositions and arrangements
thrill audiences nationwide. His recent HighNote/ Savant Records and
American Showplace releases were all in the Top Ten National Airplay
Charts for many weeks and Top Ten of the Year lists. Bob
has played with a who's who of jazz legends. In recent years he has
performed at the Kennedy Center, the Blue Note, the Kitano, SMOKE, plus
many national & international festivals. Critics hail Bob as "the
thinking man's guitar hero, a brilliant, knowing bebop player," and dig
his "infectious, funky groove."
NAT JANOFF
guitarist,
composer and teacher Nat Janoff has been working steadily in the
contemporary jazz scene for the past 15 years. After earning his
Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance from William Paterson
University in 1996, Nat set to work forging his own musical path.
The
first marker on that path was Nat’s 1999 debut album, Looking Through,
featuring the rhythm section of world-renowned electric bassist Matthew Garrison and drummer Gene Lake, putting Nat on the map as both a player and a composer.
Two more albums soon followed—a live acoustic recording with fellow William Paterson alumnus Jake Schwartz(simply titled, Live) and a collaborative project with Rave Tesar on keys (of Annie Haslam’s Renaissance) and Ray LeVier on drums, entitled Berkana.
Janoff
was honored with the opportunity to contribute to ESC Records latest
tribute album, Mahavishnu Redefined II, recording the track, Are You the
One? with bassist Ray Riendeau and drummerMartin Diamond. Janoff also played guitar on three tracks on Ray Riendau's latest cd, Atmospheres.
Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Nat Janoff’s latest cd, Come Together Move Apart, was released in 2010 and features the great talents of pianist John Escreet, bassist François Moutin and drummer Chris Carroll.
In addition to playing with his own groups, Nat Janoff has performed with the R&B singer Joe, R&B legend David "Pic" Conley from the group Surface, legendary pianist Norman Simmonsand drummer Victor Jones’ group, Culturversy. Nat can also be heard on Atlantic Records’ recording artist Debelah Morgan’s cd, Dance With Me and on R&B artist Roland Clark’s new track, The Simple Things.
Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
BRUCE EDWARDS
For
many years now, Bruce Edwards has been a "first call" guitarist in New
York's music community. His chameleonic ability to adapt his style and
sound to suit the demands of the moment has taken him from playing
bluesy rock with G.E. Smith and Lenny Pickett of the saturday
Night Live band in one moment, to the frenetic avante-garde jazz of
visionary Sun Ra in the next, as well as accompanying artists as diverse
as R&B group Fatty Koo.
As a guitarist, composer, arranger, and musical director, Bruce has
worked on Broadway in the hit musical "Swing!" as well as plays by Keith
Glover, Diane Macintyre, and others