Born: March 16, 1960 Primary Instrument: Guitar
Guitarist and composer David White has been turning the heads of those who have heard him for a number of years.
Raised in South America and Spain, David is a critically acclaimed guitarist and innovative composer working in a highly original modern vein. He has spent the last 18 years in New York and Boston working with George Garzone, Valery Ponomarev, Jeff Ballard, John Lockwood, and Tim Armacost, among many others. He has recorded 6 CDs as a leader, toured extensively throughout North America and his music has been widely reviewed and acclaimed for incorporating diverse influences from Frank Zappa to Paul Hindemith to Led Zeppelin as a springboard for arrangement and improvisation, prompting All About Jazz -Seattle to write “White has staked out his own personal piece of the modern jazz landscape”. His compositions push boundaries of form, use odd meters dexterously, and range from post-modern mainstream to inspired free ensemble improvisation. He makes his home now in the Pacific Northwest and works frequently with his own band, Big Neighborhood. Big Neighborhood released it's first CD in 2005, the critically acclaimed and Grammy round nominee, “Neighbors”.
Critical Acclaim for David:
“Found within these 11 original compositions are oblique chord progressions, highly syncopated angular passages, rock and jazz fusions at time earthy, at times brainy-intellectual. White’s multi-faceted conception of modern jazz bears fruit, making this CD (Words and Music) a must-listen for guitar aficionados.” --Jason West, All About Jazz
“The music of David White bears traces, and then some, of early-60s Coltrane-esque urgency and primacy...He also uses changes in meter dexterously...And unlike many of his fellow players of that instrument (guitar), there is nothing glib or facile about his solos.” James Isaacs, Boston.Sidewalk
“White's muffled, sometimes bluesy sound is a refreshing change from the standard Montgomery/Scofield options...(he) remains the most interesting voice (among the soloists) and it would be good to hear him in a trio situation.” Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (4th Edition)
“Thoughtful and exuberant bebop with a deep groove is the main stock-in-trade...The leader's guitar definitively gives the band a different sound with lush comping and an electric edge to his tone.” IAJRC Journal
“White has a nicely defined dynamic sense, which is accentuated by his ability to shift rapidly between chunky chords and suspended single notes.” CODA
“White's guitar has a light buoyancy... not unlike the early work of Tal Farlow...” Frankie Nemko, Jazz Times
“...The interplay of the musicians and the fire with which they play is beyond categorization. This is music. It transcends labels and fashion...” Richard Kamins, Cadence
“Superbly refreshing...” West Coast Review
“Dafür klingen die Themen uns Arrangements zu frisch und ideenreich.” Jazz Live
“His guitar lines are fluid and melodic, blessed with the raw edge that comes from listening to the ensemble sound rather than merely concentrating on chops.” Ben Watson, Hi Fi News
“This is complex music that does a lot of intellectual things and still manages to sound good on a gut level...(White) alters the rhythm and chord structure of a couple of jazz standards and presents the familiar melodies in settings that make them sound new again.” Robert Tate, Jazz Now
