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When you see Neff, you can’t help but to notice his big smile and enthusiasm while he performs. His taste, chops,guitar sound and composer’s palette are eclectic. When you combine that with his blend of funk, latin and ambient modern jazz: Caramba! Modern Latin Jazz Guitar is here!
Puertorican guitarist and composer Neff Irizarry (b.1973), whose daring, fresh and exploring take on Contemporary Jazz with a strong Latin tinge has been hailed by such names as Steve Khan, Jimmy Haslip (The Yellowjackets) and Paquito D'Rivera. He can be heard on his debut CD Nepenthe (produced by Haslip)firing away his distinctive fusion of Coltrane-influence hard bop and pianistic montunos. The opening track ‘Despedidas’ was included in the first-ever European Real Book, a collection of the best European jazz compositions and in the Digital Real Book by Sher Music.
A young guitarist on the rise and a Berklee Alumni: Neff has played, studied and been in close quarters with some of the best names in contemporary jazz today. Steve Khan, Eddie Henderson, Jimmy Haslip, Randy Brecker, Azymuth, Will Calhoun, Andy Emler, Evan Price, Antonio Sanchez, Victor Mendoza, Jeff Lorber, Lonnie Liston Smith, Lee Pearson, Jean Caze, Stephen Webber, Brian Melvin, Gianni Bardaro, Sebastian Studnitzky, Gene Perla, Rick Peckham, Brett Willmott, Jon Damian, Marc Quiñones, Bobby Allende, Leslie Lopez, David Lyttle and Antonio Quijano to name a few.
Thanks for the Roland link – you're a bit of a retro dude, aren't you?! Their links to the Copenhagen video don't seem to work, although I guess it's the gig I've seen on YouTube, with you playing that white Roland guitar. I'm not keen on that sound, I have to admit – I can take it when you and Metheny are using it, but I really want to hear "proper" guitars. I saw McLaughlin play a whole gig with a synth guitar, and I was unsportingly praying for it to break down so that he'd pick up the Les Paul leaning against a Marshall stack at the side of the stage. But ignore me – I'm just a grumpy old man!
Just been checking out your Copenhagen vids on You Tube. Lovely! Nice to see you and Dennis blasting away there. That's some Robert Fripp fuzzbox tone ya got happening there, dude!
Hope you're having a good summer. I'm doing a bit of overdue woodshedding – you're partly to blame.
Take care,
Peter (yeah, it's me under the sombrero – long story)
Thanks! Great to hear from you. I will be in europe sometime in November with my trio. Still have to work out the final dates yet. Maybe we can huck up then,
