Born and raised in Connecticut, Jim was surrounded by music in his home. While no one in his family actively played an instrument, his parents house was filled with the sounds of Hank Williams, Herb Alpert, Della Reese, The Beatles, Ray Charles …. ” I never knew there were different genres of music, I just thought of it all as music” , Jim on his childhood exposure. Taking up the guitar at age 14, he learned by copying licks from his friends, magazines and anything he can get his hands on. British blues guitarists were his main influence and in his teens and early 20s he played in a variety of bands. Moving to San Francisco, Jim began studying with the late jazz guitarist Dave Bernstein. Dave was also an avid record collector and turned Jim onto music he never heard before. ” I thought I knew my stuff but when I heard Charlie Christian, Jimmy Bryant, Danny Gatton, Junior Watson, Charlie Baty, and started to really understand the language of BeBop..Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown and guitarists Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery, I was floored, I could never play rock guitar again.”
Now located in the DFW area of Texas, Jim leads the Oak Cliff Jazz Collective and Jump Blues bands. “My goal is to keep this style of music alive and share the joy of improvisation with my audience”.
Jazz, Blues and Roots Guitarist in the DFW area 