This week we are featuring guitarist Jack Wilkins.

"Guitarist Jack Wilkins has been a part of the New York jazz scene for more than four decades. His flawless technique and imaginative chordal approach have inspired collaborations with Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Bob Brookmeyer, Buddy Rich and many others.

A native of Brooklyn, Jack began playing guitar at age thirteen. His mentors included Johnny Smith, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Bill Evans, Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard.

Windows, his first album as a leader has been critically acclaimed as a dazzling, seminal guitar trio work. Later recordings, Merge, Mexico, Call Him Reckless, Alien Army, Keep in Touch, and Trioart, feature the Brecker Brothers, Eddie Gomez, Jack De Johnette, Al Foster, Phil Woods, Kenny Drew, Jr., and many others. Project G7, a two CD set tribute to Wes Montgomery, features peerless chordal creativity by Wilkins.

In recent years, Wilkins has played at many international festivals and played with many jazz greats including Stanley Turrentine, Jimmy Heath, The Mingus Epitaph, 5 Guitars play Mingus, and bassist Eddie Gomez."

As mentioned, Jack has an number of great CDs to his credit. One of his latest is a CD recorded in the UK called Bluesin'. He has great melodic sense and he also has a way of doing blisteringly fast guitar runs that is really quite effective.

Jack has recorded a new CD with fellow guitarist Jimmy Bruno (soon to be featured in this column) called "Heading North" It is available in stores or off of Jack's website e-store and is on the String Jazz Label. I have heard some clips from it and it is wild. These two guitar giants compliment each other nicely.

Check Jack's website out at http://www.jackwilkins.com

CDs and sound clips

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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.