Jack West

Jack West's music is available at CDBaby , Ahead Behind Music , and on iTunesMake no mistake, Jack West is on the path less taken. Its not only that he plays the eight-string acoustic guitar, a unique instrument that he had specially constructed while searching for the sounds he had been hearing in his mind. West is a musician dedicated to exploring uncharted territory, mapping stunning, minutely detailed soundscapes that feel uncannily familiar and yet completely fresh. This is heady music and there is a rigorous sense of structure to many of Wests tunes. But in the fine-grained textures he creates with his quartet, theres also an intuitive sense of interplay and generosity of spirit found in the finest jazz ensembles.To help develop and perform his unusually curved musical ideas, West has focused since 1996 on his ever-evolving quartet Curvature . The recent Curvature alumni list is a whos who of SF Bay Area jazz and includes among others: drummer Scott Amendola (Charlie Hunter, etc), cellist Mark Summer (Turtle Island String Quartet), mandolinist Mike Marshall, the late saxophonist Calder Spanier (Charlie Hunter Quartet), bassist Jon Evans (Tori Amos), saxophonist George Brooks (Zakir Hussein's Rhythm Experience), violinist Jenny Scheinman, Joel Davel (Paul Dresher Ensemble) on marimba lumina, and pedal steel virtuoso David Phillips (Tom Waits, Charlie Hunter).A prolific composer, West released his fifth album with Curvature, Around About Now, for the indie label Ahead Behind Music . His previous recordings have received national recognition for their exceptional quality as independently produced CD's. Curvatures 2001 release, Big Ideas, received rave reviews internationally. As We Know It was chosen over thousands of entries as winner of the Acoustic Guitar Magazine Self-Released CD Award for its "superb quality and originality."West is currently collaborating and performing in a duo with vibraphonist/composer, Lalo. Lalo has created a new world of vibraphone-based music with fresh energy a modern edge. Both musicians are composers of fresh, original tunes ranging from moving ballads to rocking grooves. Check out the gig schedule and music clips for Jack West & Lalo Vibe ."Astounding rhythmic dexterity and unorthodox percussive technique...unusual time signatures and odd rhythms...Jack West never has to worry about being mistaken for another guitarist" - San Jose Mercury NewsAll photos on Jack West's MySpace by Mitch Tobias.I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4