News
Dec 23, 2011The year is ending with some great news. I've been asked to teach Brazilian and Latin guitar at JazzCamp West in 2012, and I was recently nominated as a Latin Jazz Guitarist of the Year at Latin Jazz Corner, a blog dedicated to - you guessed it - Latin Jazz.
2012 is shaping up with some nice bookings as well. Grupo Falso Baiano will be doing a few concerts in Jan at the JazzSchool and Yoshi's SF.
Best wishes to everyone for a happy healthy and prosperous 2012!
Aug 1, 2011
I'm exciting to say that Grupo Falso Baiano's second CD is due out tomorrow. We have a CD release event Aug 3 at Yoshi's Oakland and the band is rehearsing and sounding great. Jesse Appelman - original mandolinist - is joining us!
I'll also be playing some shows with Quijeremá soon. Check out the Shows page for more info.
Hope to see you out there!
May 26, 2011
Thank you to all who wished me a happy birthday. It's a wonderful feeling to have so many people take the time to do so.
Tomorrow, I'll be mastering the Grupo Falso Baiano album due out this summer. Our CD release event will be at Yoshi's Oakland on Aug 3rd. We're excited about the CD and all the elements that are coming together; mixing, mastering, the wonderful artwork that Juliana Sankaran-Felix is making for us. Stay tunes for details on purchasing the CD.
I've also been playing with an amazing Bay Area based group called Quijeremá - http://www.quijerema.com/home.cfm. The fearless bandleader Quique Cruz is in Europe for a month, but I'm sure there will be some great shows on the horizon.
Aug 16, 2010
It's been a while since I've updated the News page! Shame on me. It's been a busy year.
Thanks again to everyone who came out to Grupo Falso Baiano's second concert at Yoshi's, featuring special guest Jovino Santos Neto. It was a wonderful show that may produce a live recording!
And another thank you to San Jose Jazz Festival for having Grupo Falso Baiano perform at the 2010 Festival.
There are many shows on the books, so please continue to support music when ever you can. We musicians always appreciate it.
And in other news, I have moved to El Cerrito. If you're a guitar student in the East Bay and are interested in lessons, please give me a shout!
Thank you for checking out the recently updated website.
Aug 3rd, 2009
First off, thank you to everyone who came out to Yoshi's in Oakland to see the Grupo Falso Baiano show. We had a wonderful turnout, and are looking forward to returning to Yoshi's in the future.
The Aug gig calendar is chock full of shows, so please visit the Gigs page to find about upcoming shows. Highlights include Grupo Falso Baiano's "Samba de Raiz" project, featuring Brazilian vocalist Ana Carbatti in Berkeley CA on Aug 7 and 8, as well as Grupo Falso Baiano shows in Berkeley and Santa Monica. There are some great samba-pagode shows too, with Jorge Alabe's "Pagode da Mesa" in San Francisco.
May 17th, 2009
2009 has brought a handful of developments. My recent article on "Creating Chord Melody Arrangements for Guitar" has been published in the July 09 issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
StrumSchool.com is still in development, but if you'd like to become a fan on our Facebook page, please visit the StrumSchool Facebook page.
The Brazilian choro band I play with - Grupo Falso Baiano - has a summer full of wonderful shows, including the Healdsburg Jazz Fest (with Toninho Horta, Trio de Paz, Leny Andrade, and more), shows in L.A., Big Sur, Santa Barbara and the group's debut at Yoshi's in Oakland CA. Please visit the Gigs page for details.
Dec 31st, 2008
I just returned from Yelapa, Mexico, where I performed a Brazilian solo guitar concert at the Yelapa Oasis to a standing room only crowd. Thanks to Ben, Keely, David and Randall, and everyone who came out.
I will be performing with saxophonist Joshi Marshall and bassit Lorenzo Farrell on New Year's Eve at Auberge du Soleil and will be performing numerous times during January. Come check out a show! Listings are on the Gigs page.
Oct 16th, 2008
I have just written an article on "Beginning Bossa Nova Guitar" for Acoustic Guitar Magazine. The article will be published in the Dec '08 issue.
Also, I am excited and proud to announce that he I will be the lead instructor for the new instructional website StrumSchool (www.strumschool.com). The website is a free, all access website focused on teaching guitar to absolute beginners. It will feature videos, articles, blogs, etc.
Recently I have been performing a lot of Brazilian music: every Sun at FireFly Restaurant in SF; solo guitar from 6-9pm. In addition, I have been playing 7 string guitar in master percussionist Jorge Alabe's samba-pagode group.
Sept 2, 2008
The debut CD from my Brazilian choro group Grupo Falso Baiano "Viajando: Choro e Jazz" has just been released! Please check out www.falsobaiano.com for details, reviews, samples, and how to buy!
Previous News
Picture pages, Picture pages....yes, there is finally a picture gallery that has been added to this site, as well as the Falso Baiano site. We're very excited about this as it was done using a third party Flash based program that operates in the environment of this site. What does that mean? Go check out the Photos page.
And some exciting news for Blowout, my modern Jazz sextet: the album "The Supporting Theory" is now on iTunes! Individual tracks, as well as the album, are available. You can also purchase the album from the Blowout website, if you are a fan of liner notes, jewel cases, and the like. Special thanks to Cedar Records for making it happen!
And lastly, be sure to sign up for the mailing list if you are interested in finding out about upcoming performances, releases, etc.
