Bobby Veltre

Born on Long Island, just outside New York City in 1955, Guitarist Bob Veltre started playing guitar at the age of 11. Taught by his older brother Rich, Bob picked up the guitar quickly and began playing with bands in his early teens. Rich would take him to The Fillmore East in Manhattan early on to see such greats as B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, Johnny Winter, Taj Mahal, Miles Davis, Laura Nyro, and more, and to The Village Vangard to see Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Flora and Airto and many others. After the blues years Bob started listening to Wes Montgomery and Thelonius Monk and got exposed to John Mcglaughlin, Larry Coryell and Bill Connors. After moving to San Francisco in 1976 Bob began listening to Weather Report, James Taylor ,Bonnie Raitt and began to be seriously influenced by the music of Pat Metheny. Bob retired from playing clubs in 1985 to write and record. After moving to Mesa AZ, he began playing jazz with Bud Dimock and Dave Russell and producing his own music and other artists in his home studio. He played with the Phoenix Symphony in 1998 for 2 pops concerts. In 2000 he moved to the White mountains of Arizona where he continues to write and record. He became music director at the Unity church in Lakeside AZ in 2008 and still plays there each Sunday morning. Bob has a standing jazz gig with the John Darst trio at the Branding Iron Restaurant in Show low AZ every Friday and Saturday night.

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