What’s Hot With Jazz Guitar: Bruce Forman

This week we feature Guitarist Bruce Forman. Bruce is a brilliant west coast guitarist from here in the US, with a number of albums featuring him as leader.

“Bruce Forman, acclaimed a “prodigious talent” by Down Beat, has developed his dazzling guitar signature over 20-plus years as a professional musician. Embracing the spirit of musical freedom expressed by bebop wizards Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery and others, Bruce has cultivated what Option Magazine calls “a truly original style.” In JazzTimes, Barney Kessel said, “Bruce Forman is one of the great lights of our age.”

Leader, as well as sideman, with many of the greatest names in jazz, Bruce has performed at most major jazz festivals and clubs around the world. Luminaries such as Stanley Turrentine, Grover Washington, Bobby Hutcherson, Ray Brown, Eddie Jefferson and Richie Cole have featured him in their bands.”

I might add here that Bruce is a wonderful technician. I thoroughly enjoyed both of his trio albums. He manages to pepper his melody lines and solos with chordal ideas from time to time, which helps in defining the changes with a guitar trio, and his melodic sense is very smooth and concise.

In addition to his recent trio release ‘Dedication’, Bruce can also be heard on the new Charlie Shoemake album ‘Land’s End’ as a featured player. Shoemake is a world renowned vibes player.

Like my friend Joe Diorio, in last week’s column, Bruce also has some educational books (Jazz Band Rhythm Guitar, Solo Jazz Guitar, Jazz Guitarist’s Handbook) and a video that are available on his website.

Check him out at Bruce Forman

Albums and sound clips: Bruce Forman Media Page

Doc Dosco is a jazz guitarist, composer and audio consultant living in Los Angeles, CA. His website is located at 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.

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