Craig Wagner Guitar Tab Books, Instruction DVDs, Solos, Arrangements, Video Lessons

Craig Wagner

    Craig Wagner began playing guitar when he was fifteen, after meeting Doc Watson and Merle Watson backstage at a bluegrass festival. Although it was the acoustic guitar sound that fascinated him initially, the first music he played was rock. His first learning experiences were drawn from the sounds of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and The Cream.

    After high school, he furthered his musical studies at Bellarmine College in Louisville, where he studied with Jeff Sherman. There Craig was introduced to jazz and encouraged to perform in ensembles and learn music theory. While at Bellarmine, he was fortunate to attend classes with jazz giants such as Jimmy Raney, Tal Farlow, Jim Hall, Howard Roberts, Herb Ellis and Attila Zoeller.

    He received his bachelor's degree in Guitar Performance (with an emphasis on jazz) in 1993 and began making his living through private lessons and performing. His main creative outlets, besides solo guitar pursuits, have been with his jazz trio Java Men. The group plays original jazz compositions and has produced three successful CD's.

    Craig has been a regularly featured performer and workshop presenter at the annual Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention in Nashville. He has also been a guitar instructor in the well-known Jamey Aebersold Jazz Workshop series. Presently he is performing, arranging, teaching and writing new guitar music. He looks forward to teaching at the University of Louisville in the fall of 2002.