Dave Stryker and I met at the Lincoln Center Barnes and Noble bookstore in Manhattan. I was thrilled to meet this amazing guitarist, whose distinctive personal writing style and soulful blend of blues and jazz has gained him recognition as one of the most unique guitarists of our time. Genuine and forthcoming, he talked about his beginnings as a guitar player, his personal approach to playing jazz, and his upcoming live recording at the Jazz Standard. JAZZREVIEW: When did you start pl …

It is often said that one of the hallmarks of the great artists is that they can make the difficult seem effortless, like a natural extension of themselves. On November 28, 2004, at the Frederick Rose Theatre at the Dizzie Gillespie Coca Cola Center in New York City, Tony Bennett illustrated this effortless yet captivating quality, entrancing his audience with a commanding presence that resonated throughout all 1200 seats of the grandiose theatre. Only a handful of entertainers in the past ce