Guitar & Music Lessons with SCOTT SAWYER

Feeling stuck? Looking for new ideas and approaches? Interested in taking an inventory of "what you know"...and making more music with it? Want to better understand "music theory"...in an organic way that supports making music (performing/writing/arranging)? How about strengthening your ears? How well do you improvise? Would you like some help organizing an efficient & effective practice routine?

I'm an adjunct professor at East Carolina University teaching part-time in the College of Music (Jazz); as well as an active performer, recording artist and music producer. I continue to offer private instruction in my home (Raleigh, NC; near RDU airport).

*Weeknight availability after 5pm is limited.
*I am not currently accepting students on Tuesdays
*Weekend sessions (Sat/Sun) are available as schedules allow, 2 hour minimum. Advance payment is required for weekends.
*In addition to individual lessons, I now offer "master classes" in my home for 2-3 students; 2-hour minimum session.

Music has been my career since 1980. I continue to perform actively (bandleader & sideman) and produce music on a limited basis. For many years, I've enjoyed helping others with their music; and have instructed many guitarists from beginners to "notable experts", other instrumentalists - including pianists, bassists and horn players - and singers.

In addition to teaching, I continue to perform & record regularly. I have many years of gigging/touring experience; both here and abroad...from major festivals and music venues to coffeehouses, clubs and the funkiest dive bars. I've had the good-fortune of performing & recording with many notable musicians in major studios as well as project studios. Numerous recording credits including a Grammy-Nominated feature on Nnenna Freelon's "Shaking Free" (Concord, 1997).

I'm comfortable performing in a variety of settings, from solo guitar to larger ensembles. My 2007 album "GO THERE" charted on XM Radio "Beyond Jazz" and features bassist Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers and Tedeschi-Trucks Band), keyboardist Kofi Burbridge (Tedeschi-Trucks Band) and drummer Kenny Soule (Dag, Nantucket). I appear on new albums by Nnenna Freelon, Lois Deloatch, Bruce Piephoff and Danny Gotham, with several recordings slated for release in 2012. I produced and appear on Bruce Piephoff's 2011 release "Still Looking Up at the Stars".

Styles include jazz (standards, be- bop, post-bop/modern, chord melody, solo guitar, latin), blues (accent on Chicago), funk, rock, r&b, roots, pop, slide, twang. I can shed some light on a variety of subjects including improvisation, accompaniment styles, technique, arranging, writing/developing your own songs, re-dos of others' music, production ideas and more. *I have a great deal of experience working closely with singers (arrangements, lead sheets & production ideas).

NO EMPTY SCALE EXERCISES. All the "music theory" in the world won't help you become a better musician, unless you understand how to make music with the information. As a musician, my goals include being able to express myself freely and fluently: to play what I hear and to hear what I want to play; I can help you do the same. There is more than one way to get from point A to point B; my approaches vary according to each student's experience, goals and needs.

If you are looking to advance with your music while enjoying the process, perhaps I can help you. Sessions take place in my home (North Raleigh, near RDU/Crabtree/Brier Creek); you are welcome to record and/or video them. To inquire, please provide me with some background info such as:

*your experience with music to date
*where you are with your music today
*your short and medium-term goals

You can e-mail me (ss @ scottsawyer DOT net) or if you prefer, phone me at 919-423-4853 and we'll talk. -- SS

If you want to catch me performing "live", here's where to find me: http://scottsawyer.net/calendar.htm

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WHAT DO I CHARGE? Info on Rates and Policy is here: http://www.scottsawyer.net/2012rates&policy.pdf

"A massive musical talent, underscored with taste and sensitivity...one of my favorite guitarists..." ---Steve Haines (Director of the Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program, UNC-Greensboro)

"Joining as special guests on this musical celebration are some of my most treasured musical friends...Scott Sawyer is an amazing world-class guitarist who has toured with the band and been a musical collaborator since the 80's..."---Nnenna Freelon "Homefree" (Concord Jazz); 2010 album liner notes

"The ABB will continue what's being called the "40 Years of Highs and Lows" tour, all part of a 60 date US tour. While in NY, I got to do a gig with Go There, who I recorded with in 2006. Scott Sawyer and Kenny Soule are two of my favorite musicians to play with." - Oteil Burbridge (Chris Jisi - Bass Player Magazine)

"Welcome to Scott Sawyer, the funk, rock, blues--and jazz-- player...With a preponderance of Sawyer tunes, (GO THERE) is all groove underneath...If you're looking for a pure, hard-line jazz album, this is not it. But if you think it represents a compromise, think again. It's its own species." - Owen Cordle (News & Observer)

"I remember hearing years ago about "...this guy Scott Sawyer...He's the one guy around here who has a totally cool vibe while being one of the best guitar players in the region." The guy who said that was Brian Dennis and he was right." - John Custer (Producer, Dag, Cry Of Love, COC)

"I did do one CD with this great guitarist named Scott Sawyer. Its called "Go There". My brother Kofi played on it and a great drummer named Kenny Soule. These guys are really amazing." - Oteil Burbridge ---(badassbassplayers.com)

"We just completed a project called Go There. Just ridiculous, man...They have a guitarist, Scott Sawyer and a drummer Kenny Soule...We went into the studio and did this and I felt like we had been playing together for thirty years. It was just amazing how natural it was.---Oteil Burbridge" (jambands,com)

"Guitarist Scott Sawyer is the kind of musician who displays his musical diversity like a badge of honor. The North Carolinian, who is probably best known for his work with vocalist Nnenna Freelon, showcases his electrified playing and composing on Go There..."---John Barron (AllAboutJazz.com)

"Scott Sawyer is one of North Carolina's guitar masters... To this listener, Go There sounds like a righteous amalgam of jazz, funk, rock and blues performed by a crew of very solid players. For immediate inspiration, check the brilliant, funkified arrangement of George Harrison's "Tax Man." "---Philip van Vleck (Metro Magazine)

(Ed Paolantonio's "Dad's Blues"). . ..Sawyer grabs you on the title cut with soul and intellect, sort of like bluesman B.B. King meeting jazzman Jim Hall---(N&O; Raleigh, NC); 11/98

Ghezzi's debut CD "Taking No Prisoners": Vocalist Ghezzi and guitarist extraordinaire Scott Sawyer pack a solid blues punch on this fine outing...Sawyer delves deep into his blues-soaked Chicago roots, equally at home on rockin' blues or coolly perfect weepers like "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out."---Gene Hyde (Spectator; Raleigh, NC); 12/97.

"(Charlie) Byrd played amplified acoustic guitar, Sawyer electric guitar. As an accompanist, Sawyer subtly shadowed Byrd. As a soloist, he paced himself thoughtfully and showed much rhythmic variety. He occasionally evoked Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall...throughout the concert, Byrd was a generous leader, swapping solos and phrases with Sawyer"...)---Owen Cordle (N&O; Raleigh, NC); 2/97

("In The Stream") "A thoughtful improviser, Sawyer selects notes carefully from among the many that lie beneath his fingers. Like master trumpeter Miles Davis, who punctuated his solos with pockets of emptiness, Sawyer lets each note find its own gravity before moving on to the next. But just when you think you've got him nailed as an aw-shucks guitarist who picks unobtrusively in the shadows, one listen to Stream reveals Sawyer's alter ego: a boisterous blues man who honks nasty and loud... "Blue Diner" jolts like a boiling cup of coffee."---Joe Vanderford (The Independent Weekly; Durham, NC)

"(Sawyer, on "In The Stream") obviously enjoys the bop and Coltrane-style free improvisational genres. On those tracks where he uses a sax, he lets the horn player lead with good effect.....there are a pair of selections which I've always felt were the guitar's forte-a gentle ballad and a melodic piece that builds in intensity with each successive pass. He uses each to effectively demonstrate his own strengths."---Paul Matthews (CADENCE)

"The album's title brings to mind third stream jazz, in this instance mixing electric guitar with acoustic instruments to invent compositions with rock, straightahead, and new music elements. In The Stream is an engaging yet uncompromisingly provocative effort for the serious jazz listener."---Wayne Self (JazzSouth)

("In The Stream") "This is meaty, modern, modal stuff. Key is Sawyer's playing: No strummy sloshing around here; it's dead-on, down to the last well-placed blue note. This is an adventuresome group."---Dean Smith (Charlotte News & Observer)

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