Dave Askren is an American jazz guitarist and educator.

Musical career

Askren was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, Wisconsin, but he grew up in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, North Carolina, and

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

, Ohio, son of a church organist/piano teacher. He learned about

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

from local musicians whose interests went beyond rock and blues. Askren started on clarinet and saxophone, but switched to guitar when he was fourteen. In his early teens he belonged to professional bands that played rock,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, and R&B at local venues. From 1976–1980, he attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in Boston and taught there during the 1980s, while playing gigs around Boston. He also worked with

Delfeayo Marsalis Delfeayo Marsalis (; born July 28, 1965) is an American jazz trombonist, record producer and educator. Life and career Marsalis was born in New Orleans, the son of Dolores (née Ferdinand) and Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music pro ...

Antonio Hart Antonio Hart (born September 30, 1968) is a jazz alto saxophonist. He attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, studied with Andy McGhee at Berklee College of Music, and has a master's degree from Queens College, City University of New York. H ...

Kevin Eubanks Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957) is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer. He was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led the Primetime Band on the short lived ''The Jay Le ...

Hendrik Meurkens
and

Bob Moses Robert Moses (1888–1981) was an American city planner. Robert Moses may also refer to: * Bob Moses (activist) (1935–2021), American educator and civil rights activist * Bob Moses, American football player in the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic * Bob M ...

. In the 1990s, he moved to Los Angeles and was a sideman for pop acts such as

La Toya Jackson La Toya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956) is an American singer and television personality. The fifth child and middle daughter of the Jackson family, Jackson first gained recognition on the family's variety television series, ''The Jacksons'', ...

and

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series ''Solid Gol ...

. During his career, he has also worked with David King, Bobby Shew, Jimmy Branly, Sal Cracciolo, Gary Foster,

Linda Hopkins Linda Hopkins (December 14, 1924 – April 10, 2017) was a Tony-winning American actress and blues and gospel singer. She recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes. Biography Born Me ...

, Eddie Resto.

Discography

* ''Re: Bill Evans'' (String Jazz, 2002) * ''Rhubumba'' (Sea Breeze, 2004) * ''Some Other Things'' (Sea Breeze, 2005) * ''Trio Nuevo +'' (Daway, 2008) * ''It's All About the Groove'' with Jeff Benedict (Daway, 2013) * ''Among Friends'' with the Orion Saxophone Quartet (Tapestry, 2013) * ''Holmes'' with the Jeff benedict Big Band (Tapestry, 2015) * ''Come Together'' with Jeff Benedict (Tapestry, 2017) * ''Paraphernalia - Music of Wayne Shorter'' with Jeff Benedict (Tapestry, 2020)

References

4. Cook, Richard & Morton, Brian (2008). ''The Penguin Guide To Jazz Recordings 9th Edition.'' London: pp 48–49. .

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Askren, Dave Living people American jazz guitarists Musicians from Milwaukee Berklee College of Music faculty Year of birth missing (living people)