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Ari Joshua

Ari Joshua is a South African born, American raised jazz guitarist who wields an enlightened presence, boundless creativity, and visceral virtuosity. He earned a scholarship to the iconic New York City music school, The New School and before that he spent a year at Mason Gross School of the Arts. Many talented musicians have gravitated towards Ari's sound has earned him many roles as a side man and he has also led many ensembles performing original music over the years. His passion and dedication to the music , can be seen in his commitment and advocacy for music education. In the early 2000's he founded the Music Factory an in person music and online music school that employs passionate professional full time musicians and has taught over 40,000 lessons to musicians. The Music Factory has impacted the lives of thousands of children, and families in the Seattle area. providing music education for students of all ages, levels and styles for over a decade. Jazz studies; While in school on the east coast, Ari studied with an amazing list of players, including Richie Beirach, Kenny Barron, Reggie Workman, Ted Dunbar, Jack Wilkins, Vic Juris, Hal Galper, Jimmy Owens, Milo Petersen, George Garzone, Armen Donelian, Richard Boukas, Bobby Sanabria, Bill Kirshner, Jimmy Cobb, Gary Dial, Classical Guitarist Virginia Luque, Ralph Peterson, Noah Baerman, Larry Ridly, Mike Richmond, Ralph Bowen, Bill Fielder, Badal Roy, Robert Bedford, and many more. Ari loves playing standards, and original modern jazz music, and has adapted his experience learning the jazz language and fused it with all the music styles he loves and grew up on. He takes a jazz approach to everything he does, connecting the mind, spirit, and body to paint sonically in the moment from a broad palette of possibilities. As a side man, Hall of Famer Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam featured Ari on his solo album, and Santana drummer Michael Shrieve asked Ari to be the lead guitarist of his band. Ari’s rock band, Big High, attracted the talents of Mad Season and Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, and REM guitarist Peter Buck. Ari has also recorded or performed with Stone Gossard, Michael Shrieve, Joe Doria, Barrett Martin, Peter Buck, Kevin Sawka, Michael Kang, The Benevento Russo Duo, Marcus Strickland, EJ Strickland, Reggie Watts, Robert Glasper, DJ Swamp, Blake Lewis,Sir Mix-A-Lot, Tom Morello, Mike McCready, Skerik, Matt Butler's Everyone Orchestra, David Tiller, Matt Sircely, New Monsoon, Ralph Peterson, David Brogen (ALO), Shawn Smith (Brad, Satchel), Handful of Lovin, and more.

Hallmarks of his sensibility are his bell-like tone, lush and impressionistic chord voicings, and fiery improvisations that have a psychedelic sprawl, brimming with jazzy flights, bluesy passages, and fluid legato runs that seem to dance in the crevices of the grooves. “I just close my eyes, tune in, and the notes come from somewhere else. The music just pours out,” Ari says. Ari is finally opening his vault and sharing a catalog of recordings that feature his masterful musicianship alongside such revered instrumentalists. His vault of unreleased music includes works with four-time Grammy-winning artist Robert Glasper, Marco Benevento, Joe Russo, Delvon Lamarr, Skerik, and members of the Trey Anastasio Band. These tracks will be issued in various configurations, and they document a spiritual journey of a prodigious talent all-consumed by his passion for music. There is a mystique to Ari’s South African roots. Ari came up as a natural musician. “In my lifetime, I’ve seen a lot of great musicians, and always understood what they were doing. My goal from when I was young was to master a musical language to be able to express myself and connect with others without any constraints, like I saw in the masters” he says. His entry into the expressive possibilities of improvised music came together through discovering his fathers record collection, transcribing Hendrix, Yes, Stevie Ray, and old jazz and blues records. Ari grew up as a kid seeing legendary jazz artists like Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, acts like the Grateful Dead, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Phish, and at 14 he started performing and studying with the high school jazz ensemble at Roosevelt High School. His band director, and peers sparked a deep study of the jazz legends, while touring in Europe, and attending Jazz Festivals they where able to meet and hear the living legends. For college, Ari was awarded a scholarship to study music on the East Coast at the prestigious New School where he met Robert Glasper and a crew of amazing young artists. Those five years were a formative time where Ari solidified his musicality and learned countless lessons from superstar fellow students and incredible mentors too many to list. - written by Lorne Behrman