John Stein is a

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 m ...

guitarist and teacher from Kansas City, Missouri.

Career

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Stein took his first guitar lesson when he was seven and his first jazz lesson when he was thirteen. In 1967, he attended Beloit College, but he dropped out and moved to Vermont. He worked in local clubs playing rock music, then took jazz lessons from a pianist. When he was thirty, he attended the Berklee College of Music and taught there after he graduated. He received a master's degree in education from Harvard and also plays double bass. His first album, ''Hustle Up!'', was released in 1995. Stein considers

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

and Jim Hall his two biggest influences. One of his favorite albums since childhood is ''Getz/Gilberto'', released in 1964 by Stan Getz,

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was of ...

, and

Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian mu ...

. He recorded his album ''Concerto Internacional de Jazz'' (2006) in Brazil. In 2005, he made his public debut as bandleader with

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s an ...

. For several years, Stein wrote a column for ''Just Jazz Guitar'' magazine about arranging and composing. Some of this material was compiled for his books ''Jazz Standards for Solo Guitar'', ''Composing Tunes for Jazz Performance'', and ''Composing Blues for Jazz Performance''. He has worked with Bill Pierce, John LaPorta,

Larry Goldings Lawrence Sam “Larry” Goldings (born August 28, 1968) is an American jazz keyboardist and composer. His music has explored elements of funk, blues, and fusion. Goldings has a comedic alter ego known as Hans Groiner. Life and career Golding ...

, and Bob Freedman. He has performed on stage with

Lou Donaldson Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is an American retired jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop ...

, Lonnie Smith, Johnny Vidacovich, and Idris Muhammad. He toured France, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Spain, and the U.S.

Discography

* ''Hustle Up!'' (

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

, 1995) * ''Green Street'' ( Challenge, 1999) * ''Portraits and Landscapes'' (Jardis, 2000) * ''Conversation Pieces'' (Jardis, 2002) * ''Interplay'' (Azica, 2004) * ''Concerto Internacional de Jazz'' (

Whaling City Sound Whaling City Sound is an independent jazz record label established by Neal Weiss in 1999. History Weiss is president of Fiber Optic Center in New Bedford, Massachusetts. A lifelong fan of jazz, he started Whaling City Sound as a jazz label, thoug ...

, 2006) * ''Encounterpoint'' (Whaling City Sound, 2008) * ''Raising the Roof'' (Whaling City Sound, 2010) * ''Turn Up the Quiet'' with Ron Gill (Whaling City Sound, 2010) * ''Hi Fly'' (Whaling City Sound, 2011) * ''Bing Bang Boom!'' (Whaling City Sound, 2012) * ''Emotion'' (Whaling City Sound, 2014) * ''Color Tones'' (Whaling City Sound, 2017) * ''Wood and Strings'' with Dave Zinno (Whaling City Sound, 2017) * ''Watershed'' (Whaling City Sound, 2020) * ''Serendipity'' (Whaling City Sound, 2021) * ''Lifeline'' (Whaling City Sound, 2022) * ''No Goodbyes'' (Whaling City Sound, 2023)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American jazz guitarists Berklee College of Music alumni Berklee College of Music faculty Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni