JOHN STEIN
Urbanbuzzmag.com
By Nigeria Anderson
Next Gen, Jazz For My Grandchildren
John Stein is a jazz guitarist, educator and author. His music over the course of his career has been consistent with performing jazz. His latest release, Next Gen, Jazz For My Grandchildren, is near and dear to his heart. By request from his daughter, he composed five tracks on his new album dedicated to his five grandchildren. Stein began playing the guitar at seven years old. Before embracing jazz, Stein performed folk music and rock and roll in his formative years. After embracing jazz, he released his first album Hustle Up (1995) on Tightly Knit Records, a subsidiary of Knitting Factory Works. Hustle Up displays Stein’s talents, as a guitarist, composer and artist. John Stein’s passion to play jazz guitar, he enrolled in Berklee College of Music to further his studies and hone his craft. Stein graduated from Berklee College of Music, becoming a great jazz guitarist and educator of our day. He has a career that expands over 30 years. Stein is a retired professor of Berklee College of Music, and an author writing books titled Jazz Standards For Solo Guitar, Composing Blues For Jazz Performance, and Composing Tunes For Jazz Performance. John Stein has performed with some of the world’s finest jazz acts and can cover a spectrum of jazz styles.
Mark McLean’s recently released album, FEEL ALRIGHT is a triumphant work that is being welcomed by music enthusiasts regardless of genre preferences. It effectively features seven artists lending their skillful vocals on a myriad of styles from Soul, Blues/Funk, Pop/Rock, to Jazz both Cool & New Orleans-hot. The singers, musicians – the entire ensemble, with multi-talented Mark McLean at the helm, adroitly break all the rules on FEEL ALRIGHT with 11 eclectic tracks, each one a stand-alone success.