Paul Bollenback
Jazz Guitar
"Not one jazz virtuoso could put the definition of jazz into words, but all agreed that you know it when you hear it. That's the way it is with Paul Bollenback. It's bona-fide playing, unambiguous, up-front and powerful," summarizes guitar master George Benson, a long-time supporter. Bollenback's debut recording as a leader, Original Visions, on Challenge Records, is one of the most creative efforts by a guitarist in recent memory.
Paul Bollenback's emotionally expressive style and eclectic approach is the result of a wide range of influences, including Carlos Santana, Yes, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, and Lenny Breau. He attended University of Miami as a music major, then later studied privately for eight years with Baltimore-based professor of theory/composition Asher Zlotnik. In 1987, he made his recording debut on saxophonist Gary Thomas's Seventh Quadrant, for Enja records, and, in 1990, made the acquaintance of organ legend Joey DeFrancesco, an association that lasted 16 years and produced 14 recordings.
In 1991 his two compositions, "Wookies's Revenge" and "Romancin' the Moon" (featured on Joey DeFrancesco's Reboppin') earned him the SESAC award for original music. In 1993 while touring in Europe, Paul was awarded a grant from the Virginia Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts to compose and perform "New Music for Three Jazz Guitars". In 1997, Bollenback was named Musician of the Year at the Washington Area Music Awards.
Bollenback has appeared on the Tonight Show, Good Morning America, Joan Rivers, The Today Show, and Entertainment Tonight. He has played with an impressive spectrum of musicians, including Stanley Turrentine, Gary Bartz, Joey DeFrancesco, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Joe Locke, Gary Thomas, Chris McNulty, Tim Garland, David "Fathead" Newman, Steve Wilson, Geoffrey Keezer, Terri-Lyne-Carrington, Grady Tate, Shunzo Ohno, James Moody, Jack McDuff, Charlie Byrd, Paul Bley, Carol Sloane, Melissa Walker, Carter Jefferson, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Bruno, and East Meets Jazz, with Sandip Burman.
