What’s Hot With Jazz Guitar: Petri Krzywacki

by Doc Dosco

This week we feature Finnish jazz guitarist Petri Krzywacki.

I have been carrying on some nice email exchanges lately with Finnish jazz guitarist Petri Krzywacki. He is a excellent player, and his knowledge of jazz guitar runs deep. I commented recently on Pete's playing by saying I liked his 'command' of his melodic phrases. He a great sense of 'touch'… and better than a lot of guys with bunches of CDs out. Plays well constructed solos, and his chordal work is top notch. Nice phrasing and melodic flow. Very interesting approach. Captures the ear, with all the cascades of notes. Nice rhythmic variations too.

Brian Kelly, Nashville jazz guitarist added about Pete's cut Over The Rainbow: “I agree with everything you said about Pete's playing and more. I also like the fact that it is live. Peter plays in a style I very much like. He plays in long phrases that sound almost legato due to his lovely phrasing. Many of his lines are layered or cascaded just as you say. I don't know if this last feature is learned or just comes natural to Pete but it is noticeable how good he is at it. That combined with an advanced harmonic concept put Pete at the head of his class for me. The other thing I love about Pete's playing is that despite the fact that he is using a lot of very modern techniques and material he still manages to sound like a traditionalist style player to me.”

So, we like this guy. I think you will too. Pete will have a new CD available soon on CD Baby. Watch for it.

Pete's Online Bio:

Petri Krzywacki (b.1971) hails from the outskirts of Helsinki, Finland. Having aimed his artistic tendencies at visual arts as a child, he turned to music as a teenager. Originally self taught, he studied some classical guitar before finding his way to the Pop & Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki to focus on jazz. Krzywacki spent the last half of 1995 in United Kingdom studying piano under Nikki Iles and guitar with Mike Walker and Pete Sklaroff. Ample gig opportunities have given him a chance to deepen his understanding of jazz music; he has played with Leroy Jones, Ulf Johansson-Werre and Ed Thigpen, among others. A student of music for life, Krzywacki feels that individual expression stems from knowing the history of the music and one's relationship to it. These days he divides his time between teaching, playing gigs and other music-related activities.

Pete's website with sound clips:

http://www.petrikrzywacki.com

Pete's Myspace page with more clips:

http://www.myspace.com/petekrzywacki

Charming live clip of Somewhere Over The Rainbow:

http://www.elisanet.fi/petri.krzywacki/Music/Over%20the%20Rainbow.mp3

Brand new CD of Petri Krzywaki available now on CD Baby:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/petrikrzywacki

Doc Dosco is a jazz guitarist, composer and audio consultant living in Los Angeles, CA. His website is located at http://www.docdosco.com, where you can find more information on the 'What's Hot with Jazz Guitar' columns, audio clips of Doc's playing, and many additional features. Doc now endorses Peerless Guitars and has the website Jazz Guitar Zone to help promote Peerless jazz guitars in the US. He also endorses the new Pignose Valve Tube Amps — great for jazz (and anything else!)

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