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 John Jorgenson Quintet > > > www.johnjorgenson.com
A guitarist's guitarist, and a musician's musician.
Known as one of the pioneers of the American gypsy jazz movement, Jorgenson has had quite a varied career, one that is continually evolving. As a youngster growing up in Southern California he was playing both the piano and the clarinet by age 8. At 12 he got his first guitar and practiced voraciously while
continuing to study classical music on woodwinds, and at 14 was playing professionally.
Learning first to play rock, John absorbed other guitar styles as quickly as he discovered them. This broad musical palette has enabled him to play with artists as diverse as Elton John, Luciano Pavarotti, Bonnie Raitt, and Benny Goodman. He is an "A List" session player working in LA, Nashville and London and has appeared on many platinum-selling and Grammy-winning CDs.
Jorgenson first came to national prominence in the mid 1980's with The Desert Rose Band, a group he co-founded with Chris Hillman. The band scored five # 1 singles, and won numerous awards. John himself won the ACM's "Guitarist of the Year" award three times consecutively.
Following the DRB John formed another award winning group, the virtuosic guitar trio The Hellecasters. Originally conceived as a "one off" gig for fun, the group went on to produce 3 acclaimed CDs and a live video, winning both "Album of the Year" and "Country Album of the Year" from the readers of Guitar Player Magazine for their stunning debut effort, "Return of the Hellecasters" released in 1993.
In 1994 Elton John called and requested John's presence on his next 18-month world tour. The 18 months stretched into a 6 year period that included not only sold out world tours, but recordings, television appearances, and collaborations with many other artists including Sting and Billy Joel. As well as the expected guitar duties, Jorgenson was also featured on saxophone, pedal steel, mandolin and vocals.
As a composer John's biggest audience was during the 2000 Olympics, where his friends Tommy and Phil Emmanuel performed "Back on Terra Firma", a song composed for The Hellecaster's first CD. Jorgenson's compositions have also been featured in numerous television and film scores.
Although perhaps better known in the pop, country and rock world, gypsy jazz is the style of music closest to Jorgenson's heart. His articles and lessons on gypsy jazz have appeared in many prominent guitar magazines and he has given master classes around the country. He has performed with some of the most respected European proponents of this style, Bireli Lagrene and Romane. His playing has been included on a CD with Babik Reinhardt and Jimmy Rosenberg, and on another featuring Angelo Debarre and Moreno.
Jorgenson was twice asked to recreate Django's music for feature films, "Gattica" and "Head in The Clouds". The latter, which will be released in 2004, stars Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz, and Jorgenson appears on camera as Django Reinhardt himself, complete with burned hand and gypsy moustache.
In 1988 Curb Records released Jorgenson's "After You've Gone" CD, a collection of Reinhardt and Goodman styled 30's swing. Featured guests included Darol Anger and David Grisman. In 2004 "Franco American Swing" will be released on J2/FGM Records, a CD full of infectious gypsy jazz music. The Nashville Chamber Orchestra joins John in this collection of mostly original compositions, pushing the boundaries as it adds to the tonal palette of traditional gypsy-jazz. Beautiful melodies and soulful virtuosity abound as Jorgenson treats listeners to his dazzling fretwork and sizzling
clarinet playing.
Currently living in Nashville, John continues to tour the UK with his own band "John Jorgenson and Friends", playing an eclectic blend of styles, and in the US playing gypsy jazz with "The John Jorgenson Quintet". Occasionally he will also perform with bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs, and continues to collaborate with other artists live and in the studio.
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