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Steve Masakowski (born September 2, 1954) has been recognized as one of the leading modern-jazz musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana since the 1970s. A highly accomplished guitarist and composer, he is also a distinguished jazz educator, the inventor of the guitar-based keytar, the inventor of the switch pick, and the designer of three custom-built 7-string guitars. He is best known for his work with the contemporary jazz groups Mars, Astral Project, Los Tres Amigos, Nova NOLA, and the Masakowski (MAZ) Family band. Steve’s primary early guitar influences include Larry Coryell, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Lenny Breau, and Pat Martino. Steve was a guitar student of the New Orleans-based guitarist and educator Hank Mackie, and of Larry Senibaldi at the Berklee College of Music. He also studied composition and orchestration with Dr. Bert Braud in New Orleans. Steve has developed a unique approach to playing the guitar by using his special pick design, allowing him to switch seamlessly from finger picking to flat picking. Steve has performed, recorded, and learned from some of the greatest New Orleans musicians including Alvin ‘Red’ Tyler, Ellis Marsalis, Jr., Earl Turbinton, Jr., Willie Tee, and James Black. He has also performed with the Grammy Award-winning artists Bobby McFerrin, Nicholas Payton, Allen Toussaint, Dianne Reeves, and others at major festivals around the world. As a recording artist, Steve has released nine CDs, including two on the prestigious Blue Note label, appeared with Astral Project on nine albums, and served as a sideman with such notable musicians as Johnny Adams, Mose Allison, Harold Battiste, Dr. John, Alvin ‘Red’ Tyler, and Johnny Vidacovich. Since 1987, Steve has been an active member of, and composer for, the award-winning New Orleans jazz group Astral Project. He has twice been voted ‘Best Guitarist’ and included as a member of Astral Project in the ‘Best Contemporary Jazz Group’ three times by ''Gambit'' and ''Offbeat'' magazines in their annual reader's polls. He has published lessons in ''Guitar Player'' magazine and wrote the book ''Jazz Ear Training – Learning to Hear Your Way Through Music'' for Mel Bay Publications. He has also been recognized by ''Down Beat'' magazine as ‘Guitar Talent Deserving Wider Recognition.’〔‘Down Beat 47th Annual International Critics Poll Results 1999,’ ''Down Beat'' 66, no. 8 (August 1999): 50, 54.〕 Steve has participated in numerous jazz concerts and workshops at major universities including The University of Chicago, Indiana University, and Princeton University. He is currently on the faculty at the University of New Orleans, where he holds the position of Coca-Cola Endowed Chair of Jazz Studies. ==Biography== Stephen Alphonse Masakowski was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 2, 1954.〔Unless otherwise stated, all the material in this article is taken from David Lasocki, ''Steve Masakowski, Big Easy Innovator: The Life and Work of the New Orleans Jazz Guitarist and Educator'' (Portland, Oregon: Instant Harmony, 2014).〕 He became seriously interested in music at the age of 14, when he took up the bass guitar in order to play rock ’n’ roll in a band he co-founded called Truth, loosely based on the concept of Cream. In high school, having become attracted to composing, he also started to play guitar in order to learn harmony. At age 17, and having been exposed to the recording ''Spaces'' by Larry Coryell, he began taking lessons with Hank Mackie, the leading guitar teacher in the city, who introduced him to the work of such influential jazz guitarists as Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, and Pat Martino. A fellow student of Mackie’s, Phil deGruy, also introduced him to the work of Lenny Breau. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Steve Masakowski」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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