Jimmy Bruno
Born in Philadelphia on July 22, 1953,
Jimmy
Bruno was first exposed to music by his parents at a very early age. His
mother was a singer and his father Jimmy Bruno, Sr. was a notable jazz
guitarist who was best known for his performance in 1959 on the hit
recording "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" with Frank Virtue and the Virtues.
When
Bruno was about eight his childhood love for music began to develop when
his father brought home what would be Jimmy's first guitar. As a child he
never had any formal training, but instead absorbed the life altering
sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, John Coltrane, and
Oscar Peterson.
In 1973, when Bruno was just nineteen, he landed his
first big gig when Buddy Rich came to Philly holding auditions for a
guitarist. He spent the next year on the road with Buddy, receiving quite
a musical education. When he returned to Philadelphia in 1974 he found few
gigs as a jazz musician and decided to try his luck playing in Las Vegas,
finally settling in Los Angeles as a studio musician. In the end it wasn't
the place or the music he loved. Since his return to Philly in 1988 Jimmy
Bruno has created a name that is synonymous with jazz guitar recording
numerous albums for Concord Records.
In addition to his new album, Jimmy Bruno has recently
been featured in 3 live concert DVDs - Jimmy Bruno: Live at Chris' Cafe, Volumes 1 & 2 and
Jimmy Bruno and Jack Wilkins:
Live at The Theatre. Jimmy is also a
jazz guitar author who to date has written several instructional books for six and
seven string jazz guitar. Jimmy Bruno is co-chair of the Jazz Guitar
Department at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA and is a
featured writer for Just Jazz Guitar Magazine. |
