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Bob Sneider

Guitarist/composer/educator Bob Sneider is currently the Jazz Guitar Professor at the world-renowned Eastman School of Music. Sneider performs a multi-faceted role at Eastman as Instructor of Jazz Guitar at the Eastman's Community Education Division and Jazz & Contemporary Media Department.

Before joining the Eastman faculty in 1997, Bob Sneider won Downbeat's 1989 "Outstanding Performance in High School Jazz" award; an award he duplicated at the collegiate level in 1993. Sneider toured with two-time Grammy Award Winner Chuck Mangione for nearly four years. Other notable performers with whom Sneider has performed include: Nat Adderley, Don Menza, Nick Brignola, Houston Person, Etta Jones, Nnenna Freelon, Gene Ludwig, Steve Gadd, Gerry Niewood, Ralph Lalama, Roy McCurdy, Freddie Cole, Jon Faddis, Keeter Betts and frequent appearances with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Pops(guitar/banjo). Bob has also toured with his brother John, who plays on several of the cuts on this debut album.

In addition, Sneider is a graduate of the University of Rochester(B.A. '93) where he studied with Ramon Ricker, Bill Dobbins and Fred Sturm. Growing up in Brockton, MA, Sneider's mentor and teacher was Chet Kruley a veteran of the Fletcher Henderson, Jimmie Lunceford and Nat Pierce bands. Sneider performs regularly with a wide variety of groups including other ESM Jazz & Contemporary Media faculty members: Jeff Campbell, Harold Danko and Rich Thompson. As a guest clinician/artist Sneider has performed with several high school and college jazz ensembles. Sneider also teaches at the Birch Creek Music Festival, the Eastman Summer High School Jazz Studies and the Tri-tone Jazz Fantasy Camp (adults).

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283
Album Review

Bob Sneider & Joe Locke Film Noir Project: Nocturne for Ava

Read "Nocturne for Ava" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Nocturne for Ava slips into noir territory--under night's cover, fedora pulled down low, trench coat collar up, immersed in a night of blurry neon glowing through a low misty fog, much in the fashion of its predecessor, Fallen Angel (Sons of Sound, 2006). Both sets celebrate noir classics and movie tunes written for or inspired by the darker side of the celluloid experience. They are moodily atmospheric, melancholic, and seductive, with a sometimes morose inward feeling in the mode of ...

209
Album Review

Bob Sneider/Mike Melito/Phil Flanigan: All Through the Night

Read "All Through the Night" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


If this disc is any indication of the caliber of jazz musicians in the Rochester, New York area, then it would seem that the music is in good hands around said environs. So the story goes, guitarist Bob Sneider has played an integral part in leading the nightly jam sessions that occur during the duration of each year's Rochester International Jazz Festival, and this studio date is somewhat of a homage to those sets. No stranger to the jazz scene ...

155
Album Review

Bob Sneider / Mike Melito / Phil Flanigan: All Through the Night

Read "All Through the Night" reviewed by Dr. Judith Schlesinger


No one will be able to sleep all through this night, a collection of bright, swinging performances from this gifted Rochester trio, whose long and happy association is evident in their relaxed, empathic interplay. Here, guitarist Bob Sneider, bassist Phil Flanigan and drummer Mike Melito are joined by a stellar guest roster, creating a pleasing balance between the five trio and six quartet tracks. It's a solid and spirited session that includes some lesser-known tunes by Jackie McLean and Billy ...

139
Album Review

Bob Sneider & Paul Hofman: Escapade

Read "Escapade" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


Bob Sneider and Paul Hofmann called their first collaborative effort “Interconnection," and that was an apt name, for the two showed that they had an affinity that resulted in some darned fine music. Though their second collaboration finds them concentrating on original material, they also look at standards, including a Nat Cole medley, and even add a twist of jazz to a classical tune.

Given their familiarity with each other, it is not surprising that the recording offers a cohesive ...

171
Album Review

Bob Sneider and Paul Hofmann: Escapade

Read "Escapade" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The history of duo recordings boasts some standout pairings: Bill Evans and Jim Hall, Nat “King" Cole and Oscar Moore, Chick Corea and Gary Burton, Stan Getz and Kenny Brown. Guitarist Bob Sneider and pianist Paul Hofmann approach the duo format with masterful technique and imagination on Escapade, a followup to Interconnection (Sons of Sound, '04).Sneider is a two-time winner of Down Beat's Outstanding Performance in Jazz Award and has performed with Chuck Mangione, Nat Adderley and Jon ...

201
Album Review

Bob Sneider and Joe Locke Film Noir Project: Fallen Angel

Read "Fallen Angel" reviewed by Robert R. Calder


Very, very nice this one is, the absence of an overall noir atmosphere no cause for complaint. The project, under the leadership of Bob Sneider and Joe Locke, looks at the scores of cinematic works of the film noir genre, simply for material worth performing. Maybe somebody thought the genre might have occasioned unusual inspiration and produced themes of substantial jazz potential. Speculate if you like, and admire the considerable inventiveness of the arrangements.

There's something in the initial material. ...

215
Album Review

The Bob Sneider & Joe Locke Film Noir Project: Fallen Angel

Read "Fallen Angel" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


The dark, haunting world of film noir has returned to thrill viewers in a spate of releases on DVD in recent months. This Film Noir Project transposes that spell to music, capturing the essence of the themes that enhance the thrill of watching the films. Music, even in its darkest ambit, can be elevating. Bob Sneider and Joe Locke not only take soundtracks from classic movies, they also add some from films that fell flat on their face. But they ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Motion

Outside in Music
2019

buy

Nocturne for Ava

Origin Records
2009

buy

All Through the Night

Indies Records
2007

buy

Fallen Angel

Sons of Sound
2006

buy

Escapade

Sons of Sound
2006

buy

Interconnection

Sons of Sound
2004

buy

Nobody Else But Me

From: Motion
By Bob Sneider

Minor League

From: Motion
By Bob Sneider

Lotus Blossom

From: Motion
By Bob Sneider

Jean De Fleur

From: Motion
By Bob Sneider

Brigas Nunca Mais

From: Motion
By Bob Sneider

Full House

From: Motion
By Bob Sneider

Motion

From: Motion
By Bob Sneider

High Peaks

From: Serve & Volley
By Bob Sneider

Black Dahlia

From: Nocturne for Ava
By Bob Sneider

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