New West Guitar Group w/ Sara Gazarek at Tempe Center for the Arts

New West Guitar Group with Sarah Gazarek
Saturday, Nov 21, 2015, 7:30pm

New West Guitar Group

The New West Guitar Group (NWGG) has developed a wide spread reputation as one of the premier guitar ensembles in the world. Founded over ten years ago by guitarists Perry Smith and John Storie, NWGG performs classic pop covers, jazz standards and exciting originals. Their signature sound comes from an innovative style that highlights rhythm, beauty and virtuosity with the acoustic and electric guitar. Based in Los Angeles and New York, the ensemble tours extensively through the United States and abroad giving a variety of concert programs and educational masterclasses....

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New West Guitar Group with Sarah Gazarek
Saturday, Nov 21, 2015, 7:30pm

New West Guitar Group

The New West Guitar Group (NWGG) has developed a wide spread reputation as one of the premier guitar ensembles in the world. Founded over ten years ago by guitarists Perry Smith and John Storie, NWGG performs classic pop covers, jazz standards and exciting originals. Their signature sound comes from an innovative style that highlights rhythm, beauty and virtuosity with the acoustic and electric guitar. Based in Los Angeles and New York, the ensemble tours extensively through the United States and abroad giving a variety of concert programs and educational masterclasses.

Praised as “sharp and refined” by the Seattle Times, New West Guitar Group infuses its latest disc “Big City” with its signature blend of laid-back virtuosity and expert arrangements that “sometimes verge on the orchestral” (All Music Guide). “Big City” is the group’s second release on Summit Records and the music is regularly featured on NPR and jazz/americana radio stations all over the country. Graduates of USC’s Thornton School of Music, the trio’s versatility as players and composers have given them the reputation as pioneers in the realm of guitar ensemble.

http://www.newwestguitar.com/bio/

Sarah Gazarek

Championed by some of music’s most celebrated figures, Sara Gazarek has emerged as a strikingly original artist with limitless potential. With three highly acclaimed CD’s under her belt at the young age of 30, Sara has been hailed by the LA Times as “the next important jazz singer,” and “impeccable,” by the Winnipeg Free Press. Sara continues to seamlessly combine the intimacy of singer/songwriter stylings with the musical and improvisational elements of jazz.

Blessed with a gorgeous, translucent voice, excellent pitch, and supple sense of time, Gazarek is steeped in the jazz tradition, but is not afraid to embrace the music that moves her generation. Her newest CD, “Blossom & Bee” (2012, Palmetto) was released to rave reviews, as Nick Mondello of Jazz Times has noted “‘Blossom & Bee’ has all the beauty, bite and superb workings of a winner. It’s as good – or better – than some recent Grammy®-nominated or winning female vocalist efforts.” Sara is currently on faculty at the University of Southern California, leading the award-winning vocal jazz ensemble there and teaching privately.

http://saragazarek.com/about/

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