EXPERIENCE

Greetings and welcome to year seven of the most unusual, forward-thinking, open-minded guitar camp on the planet.

We have another round of extraordinary teachers this summer joining us in the glorious 100-acre wilderness retreat that Music Masters has cultivated over the past two decades.

Back again are two of our core teachers, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Gilad Hekselman, both of whom will be with us throughout the event. These are two of the finest and most inventive improvising guitarists in the world. Their artistry has affected the whole field.

We are thrilled to have One of the most important guitarists of our generation back again, John Scofield. This year John will not only give a master class, he will jam with several of our artists on Wednesday night’s performance.

Also returning are Rodney Jones, Camila Meza, and Mike and Leni Stern. Rodney has played with artists as diverse as James Brown and Dizzy Gillespie. He’s one of the most sought-after guitar instructors in the country, and was the main jazz guitar teacher at Juilliard and Manhattan School for many years. Camila turned a few heads last year. She’s a jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter originally from Chile, now recording for Sony Masterworks. Her writing blends South American rhythms and jazz harmony and her gorgeous singing voice conjures Milton Nascimento and Joni Mitchell. Mike and Leni Stern, perennial favorites, are both back for the 4th time. Mike, of course, is one of the signature electric guitarists of our era, starting in the 1980’s with his tenure with Miles Davis. Leni specializes in bridging jazz with W. African sounds and voice. Both are beloved for their insightful, warm teaching style.

And… we’re beyond excited to introduce some wonderful new teachers next August.

The one and only Nels Cline will be with us. Nels has been on the leading edge of guitar exploration since the 1980’s. He’s released dozens of extraordinary records of all shapes and sizes as a leader and collaborator. Nels, a fearless improviser, is best known as sideman in the rock band Wilco. Nels is funny, smart, eminently approachable, and wise.

Another new face this year is Wolfgang Muthspiel. Wolfgang began, like Kurt and Julian Lage, apprenticing with Gary Burton at an early age. He has gone on to be a central figure in the European jazz scene and an ECM recording artist. He has partnered with Ralph Towner, Brian Blade, Paul Motian, and many others, and and leads a Swiss jazz education program that serves the most promising young players on the continent. Wolfgang is also an incredible nylon string classical player. He's also a singer and songwriter.

Once again Harvey Sorgen and Jerome Harris will be our “house” rhythm section. Like last year we’ll have four different spaces for after-hours jamming. And I’ll be there, too, of course, teaching and producing, and answering any questions you may have. We’ll be starting a monthly zoom meeting in January for any attendees who wish to not only meet each other, but begin to talk about the camp and its profuse learning opportunities. See you soon.

Joel Harrison

Founder and artistic director of Alternative Guitar Summit

A LOOK INSIDE THE ALL-INCLUSIVE ALTERNATIVE GUITAR SUMMIT

Primarily a camp for improvisers, especially in the jazz realm, but all teachers are truly great rock and blues musicians as well, so you should not feel bashful about signing up if you don't know a lot about jazz. 

You'll get to perform with the teachers who will make the classes elastic enough to suit all needs and levels. Novice to advanced welcome, no beginners, please. If you’re not a musician, but would simply love being around some of the finest guitarists in the world, enjoying the evening performances and wonderful environment of Full Moon Resort, we’d love to have you on board!