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Sid
Jacobs was born in Miami Beach, Florida. Sid
spent his first few years in Havana, Cuba prior to
the revolution, after which, the Jacobs family returned
to Miami. It is there, at the age of seven,
he began his fascination with the guitar. When
his family moved to Nevada, Sid obtained a position
as guitar instructor at the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas. This made him, at eighteen, the youngest
faculty member in the school's music department.
After
moving to Los Angeles he developed the curriculum
for the Advanced Bebop and Jazz Guitar course at the
Dick Grove School and the Jazz Guitar class at the
Musicians Institute (MI and GIT), where he continues
to teach.
In
1991, his CD, 'It's Not Goodnight' was released.
It is a straight-ahead blowing session featuring his
original compositions. In 1998 Sid was the first
North American jazz guitarist invited to perform in
Argentina's "Guitars of the World" festival.
In May of 2001 he was invited to perform at the Ankara
Music Festival in Turkey.
Some
of the jazz artists with whom he has performed include
Harold Land, Eddie Harris, Buddy Montgomery, Joe Diorio,
Brad Mehldau, Larry Goldings and Javon Jackson. |
Sid
has published a number of jazz educational works,
and is particularly regarded for his adaptation of
the pianist Bill Evans' compositions for guitar, no
mean feat given the legendary musical stature of Bill
Evans as one of the greatest jazz musicians of the
twentieth century, and the harmonic complexity of
his pieces. Here is a brief synopsis of these
publications, followed by some review comments. |
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Modern
Jazz Concepts for Guitar
Covers
voice-leading melodic lines, symmetrical scales, triad
pairs -- standard notation and tablature. Accompanying
CD includes 48 demonstration tracks.
The
Changes, Guide Tones for Jazz Chords, Lines &
Comping for Guitar
Downbeat
says, "Rather than tackling improvisation with
scales, arpeggios and modes, Jacobs begins the book
by taking melody into consideration by illustrating
how to build chord voicings and lines on the basic
foundation of resolving 7ths to 3rds (and vice versa)
in II-V-I progressions."
The
Bill Evans Guitar Book
"Sid
Jacobs has produced a volume of beautiful, meticulous
arrangements of Bill Evans transcribed for the guitar.
This formidable task, which Sid has realized, will
enable guitarists to access Bill's rich harmonic imagination
Jazz
Guitar Improvisation
Develop
your jazz guitar soloing skills with this book developed
by Sid for the Musicians Institute jazz guitar curriculum.
"It's
a terrific tool for all levels of players...
Jacobs' book is a private lesson not to be missed."
- Dave Zaworsky, Downbeat
"...Translating
the work of Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk into the
language of the guitar is not easy, but Jacobs did
it with an easy fluency." - Don Heckman, Los
Angeles Times |
"...A
highly articulate improviser... never at a
loss for a new phrase, his improvisations seemed
to unfold like a set of Bach variations." -
Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times
"...A
straight-ahead artist who revealed influences from
Jim Hall and Wes Montgomery to Charlie Parker and
John Coltrane. Dazzlingly fast runs led to
passages where Jacobs tempered his considerable
technique. His improvisations were filled
with tuneful, mellifluous ideas." - Zan Stewart,
Los Angeles Times
"...Beautiful
and sensitive playing..." - Tony Mottola
"...A
great player and great educator... Sid's marvellous
transcriptions of Bill Evans' tunes for solo guitar
have just raised the guitar to a new level.
This is contemporary guitar at its harmonic best."
- Joe Diorio
"...A
fine and unsung player, and I cannot praise this
work too highly..." - Adrian Ingram, Just
Jazz Guitar
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Luis
D'Agostino is a virtuoso player whose styles span
the spectrum from the flashiest of rock music's extremes
to the purest subtle and sensitive jazz interpretations.
He is considered one of the best Argentinian guitar
players of his generation, playing electric, acoustic
and nylon string guitars. After touring throughout
Latin America and Europe between 1983 and1995 he moved
to Los Angeles and participated in the Encore Program
at the Musicians Institute where he took advanced
classes in improvisation and Jazz harmony with Scott
Henderson, Bob Magnusson and Ron Schete among others
and lately Joe Diorio. |
