by Doc Dosco
This week we feature jazz guitarist Steve Herberman. I really like the way Steve plays. I saw him live several years ago and really enjoyed his performance.
At time I wrote: “I got to hear Steve play at John Pisano's Guitar Night at Spazios this week and I must say he is quite an impressive player. Steve plays with his fingers and thumb like classical guitarist and gets very smooth flow to his lines. In addition, he uses a seven string guitar, so the added bass string gives his comping and extra dimension. Steve has a new CD available (with some sound clips online to listen to). This CD, called 'Thought Lines', uses the instrumentation of guitar, bass, drums and sax, a favorite combination of mine. All in all, Steve Herberman is a very fine jazz guitarist, and I highly recommend checking him out.”
In the meantime, Steve has released a new CD called Action:Reaction. Steve has several full length MP3s on his webiste that showcase his playing. He is very good, folks. Check him out!
Online Bio
“Steve Herberman exhibits a vast harmonic palette involving uncommon stretches on the fretboard along with a real capacity to burn on fluent single note lines… His sheer command of the instrument puts one in mind of such jazz guitar masters as Joe Pass, Joe Diorio, Lenny Breau, and Gene Bertoncini. His nuanced touch, excellent tone, tasteful, even phrasing and fresh writing style, further elevates Herberman far above the pack of other talented Berklee grads… definitely worth checking out for fans of advanced jazz guitar.”– Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes (05/07)
Steve is a graduate of Berklee College Of Music. He adopted the seven-string guitar in 1993. Steve Herberman has performed at venues such as Birdland in NYC, Spazio in Los Angeles, the NAMM shows in Anaheim and Nashville, Blues Alley, The Smithsonian Jazz Cafe, and the Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts. He has performed with renowned musicians such as Keter Betts, Buster Williams, Gary Bartz, Drew Gress, Chuck Berghofer, Mark Ferber, Steve Williams, Steve LaSpina, Jeff Hirshfield and John Pisano.
Steve has recorded two CD's as a leader; Thoughtlines (2001) and Action: Reaction (2006) His recordings have received wide critical acclaim in JazzTimes, Guitar One, Jazz Improv and others. Steve's music has been heard on NPR's Morning Edition and featured weekly on WPFW FM in DC.
Steve Herberman has taught at Towson University in Baltimore since 1999 as an adjunct faculty member. At Towson he teaches private guitar lessons and performs in the faculty jazz ensemble featuring original compositions of new music. Steve has taken his workshops to various schools, most recently Virginia Commonwealth University and has written instructional material for Downbeat magazine and Mel Bay's Guitar Sessions as well as a monthly column for Modern Guitars webzine. He is an online instructor for www.mikesmasterclasses.com. Herberman has moderated symposiums with panelists and guitar greats Jim Hall, John Scofield, Ralph Towner, Jimmy Bruno, Howard Alden, Eric Johnson and Martin Taylor at the World Guitar Congress in 2004. He is a Comins guitars endorser.
Steve's website:
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!)