Experienced Jazz Guitar performer and composer, Mr. River has released two albums this year. The first album, also with his own original arrangements, is a duo with vocalist Tony Furio, features mostly jazz standards. The second album, Two in One, wh [+]Experienced Jazz Guitar performer and composer, Mr. River has released two albums this year. The first album, also with his own original arrangements, is a duo with vocalist Tony Furio, features mostly jazz standards. The second album, Two in One, which was released under Mr. River's own label (Sarel's Production), features his own quartet (Steve Hass drums, Mat Pennman bass, Matan Klein flute and Sarel River guitar), playing eight of Mr. River's original compositions/arrangements. This album reflects his diverse international background with delightful original blends of flute and guitar. An experienced listener would find this album unique and surprising. Mr. River is a versatile jazz composer and a spirited performer. His composition and performance work encompass ballads, Latin tunes, Bebop, as well as ECM tunes.
A native of Haifa, Israel, now a resident of New York City, thirty-eight years old, Mr. River quickly established himself as a rising jazz guitar voice in the city. Within the last three years Mr. River performed in many New York City jazz clubs, including Kavehaz, Smalls and others. He had performed, with fellow jazz musicians in concerts, most notably in Lawrence and Alma Berk Recital Hall in Boston in 1993 and , in the following year in a concert at the Boston Afro-American Artist Association Festival in Copley Square. In 1995 he moved to Budapest, Hungary, where he performed in concerts and maintained his own clout in many local jazz clubs.
A graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music (guitar performance major), Mr. River enjoyed the intensive collaboration, inspiration and support of some influential, well known jazz musicians. Jerry Bergonzi, one of the most influential tenor players on the East Coast, who was recording with Blue Note at the time was improvisation professor. Mr. River also studied with Gary Dahl, Larry Baione (The Chairman of the Guitar Department at Berklee), Mordy Ferber, Hal Crook, and Garrison Fewel. Mr. River continued his studies with Greg Hopkins, one the legends of the Bebop era, and the known bassist Dave Clark, with both of whom he studied composition, and remain to be two of his most important sources of inspiration.
Intensive studies in composition, improvisation and jazz guitar, plus e
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