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Bob DeVos

With long, blues-drenched melodic lines, and a fat, warm, horn-like sound, guitarist and composer Bob DeVos has his own signature style. Critics universally cite Mr. DeVos' "full, liquid tone" and "soulful, intelligent interpretations and superb, modern compositional skiils". Hailed as "the thinking man's guitar hero" and "a brilliant, knowing bebop player", Bob's CDs as a leader for Savant/HighNote and Blues Leaf Records have earned high praise and many stars in Downbeat and throughout the jazz media. His 2006 CD Shifting Sands on Savant was 28 weeks in the top twenty on JazzWeek.com's National Airplay Chart and on many top ten jazz CDs of 2006 and a WBGOFM Jazz Radio "Play of the Month". Playing For Keeps on Savant was released in late October 2007 and is currently # 9 on JazzWeek.com's chart of national airplay.

A musically mature and versatile guitarist, composer, and arranger, Bob is a modern player with strong traditional roots. He is equally at home with straight-ahead jazz, Rhythm & Blues, funk, jazz fusion and more.

Formative Jazz Experience

Bob started in jazz as a student of Harry Leahy and the legendary Dennis Sandole. In 1970, when Sandole sent his leading students out to audition for the brilliant organist Trudy Pitts, Bob was chosen to step in for Pat Martino. Bob went on to be the guitarist for groups led by Richard "Groove" Holmes, featuring saxophone legend Sonny Stitt, and Jimmy McGriff and Hank Crawford. He later toured and recorded extensively with organist Charles "The Mighty Burner" Earland’s group that included Eric Alexander and Jim Rotondi . He further developed his compositional and harmonic skills playing with many jazz greats outside the organ trio genre.

Performances

As a member of the Jimmy McGriff-Hank Crawford Quartet, Mr. DeVos appeared in the PBS-TV video Live From Elario’s, aired nationwide on PBS’s Club Date series. He toured as a member of saxophonist Gerry Neiwood’s group Timepiece with Grammy winner Dave Samuels. As a member of composer Teo Macero’s Nonet, Bob recorded and performed with Pepper Adams, Dave Leibman, and Dick Oatts. He has also performed and/or recorded with Eric Alexander, Harry Allen, Freddy Cole, Junior Cook, Joey DeFrancesco, Kenny Drew, Jr., Bill Doggett, Billy Drummond, Joe Farnsworth, Larry Goldings, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Billy Hart, "Screaming" Jay Hawkins, David Hazeltine, Etta Jones, Gladys Knight, Mike LeDonne, Gene Ludwig, Pat Martino, Jack MacDuff, Ron McClure, Hendrik Meurkens, David "Fathead" Newman, Adam Nussbaum, Houston Person, Irene Reid, Rufus Reid, Mike Richmond, Jim Rontondi, Bob Sheppard, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Grady Tate, Stanley Turrentine, Dave Valentin, Ray Vega, Kenny Washington, Jerry Weldon, Buddy Williams, and many, many others.

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6
Live Review

Bob DeVos Quartet At Trumpets Jazz Club

Read "Bob DeVos Quartet At Trumpets Jazz Club" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


Bob DeVos Quartet Trumpets Jazz Club Montclair, NJ January 26, 2018 We live in a time when some of the septuagenarian jazz survivors, with roots in the music's venerated years, are taking a well-deserved victory lap. They've earned the right to expect audiences to pay to hear them replicate--at least to some extent--the sounds of their glory days with high profile bands, years in which jazz drew a much larger and younger ...

1
Album Review

Bob DeVos: Six String Solos

Read "Six String Solos" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


It will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Bob DeVos' work as a leader that, in the absence of a band, the guitarist's virtues remain intact and shine even brighter. One goes to DeVos' gigs--mostly in and around northern New Jersey, usually in trio and quartet formats--with high expectations. Encompassing the simultaneous employment of a number of skills rendered in a straightforward, unassuming manner, on these occasions DeVos always delivers the goods. A distinctive, full-bodied tone stings and ...

3
Live Review

Bob DeVos Quartet at the 12th Annual OSPAC Jazz and Brew Fest

Read "Bob DeVos Quartet at the 12th Annual OSPAC Jazz and Brew Fest" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


Bob DeVos Quartet Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center 12h Annual Jazz and Brew Fest West Orange, NJ September 19, 2015 A loud, protracted rumble, not unlike the sound of aircraft hovering overhead, briefly marred the second selection of a set by guitarist Bob DeVos' Quartet. It took a minute or two for the sound crew at the 12th Annual OSPAC Jazz and Brew Fest to get things back on course. The unwelcome interruption ...

6
Extended Analysis

Bob DeVos: Shadow Box

Read "Bob DeVos: Shadow Box" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


On the face of it, Shadow Box, Bob DeVos' fifth outing as a leader, is a sixty minute case study of the evolution of the organ combo, one of the music's most popular and enduring formats. DeVos tips his hat to legendary individuals (some of whom he played with in the early stages of his career) like Wild Bill Davis, Jimmy Smith, Trudy Pitts, Charles Earland, Richard “Groove" Holmes, Wes Montgomery with Melvin Rhyne, Jimmy McGriff, and Larry Young. Though ...

7
Live Review

Bob DeVos and Don Friedman: Nyack, NY, June 29, 2012

Read "Bob DeVos and Don Friedman: Nyack, NY, June 29, 2012" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


Bob DeVos and Don FriedmanNyack Library Carnegie RoomNyack, NYJune 29, 2012The spate of live performances that expressly pay tribute to various figures from bygone eras of jazz raises a number of complex questions about the music and the business which surrounds it. Do concerts and club dates in honor of musicians ranging from Duke Ellington to Louis Prima represent a marketing ploy to attract listeners who are reluctant to venture out to hear performers with ...

169
Live Review

Bob DeVos at The Turning Point Cafe, Piermont, NY

Read "Bob DeVos at The Turning Point Cafe, Piermont, NY" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


Bob DeVos The Turning Point Cafe Piermont, New York May 12, 2008

There's never been a better time to catch jazz/blues master Bob DeVos in live performance. Having played scores of gigs since 2005, DeVos's working trio, consisting of his guitar, organist Dan Kostelnik, and drummer Steve Johns, is at the peak of its creative peak. A seventy-five minute opening set at The Turning Point Cafe featured mostly selections from DeVos's two recent ...

298
Album Review

Bob DeVos: Playing for Keeps

Read "Playing for Keeps" reviewed by Jack Bowers


There are few lovelier sounds in music than a guitar that is played correctly, and by that I mean with warmth and sensitivity, even though I couldn't single out one guitarist from another even under threat of waterboarding. All that's really necessary, though, is to know who can play, and Bob DeVos raises no doubt about that. Logically and aesthetically, he's squarely on the mark.

DeVos, who toured and performed early on with such legendary organists as Richard “Groove Holmes, ...

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84

Performance / Tour

Bob DeVos Live Savant CD Release: WBGO88.3FM Mid-Day Jazz from Live@J&R

Bob DeVos Live Savant CD Release: WBGO88.3FM Mid-Day Jazz from Live@J&R

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

WBGOJazz88.3FM PRESENTS Bob DeVos

Shifting Sands Savant Records CD Release: Live@J&R and WBGOJazz88.3FM On-Air Tuesday, November 14th 12:30-1:30PM Free Concert & Signings Bob DeVos-guitar with Dan Kostelnik-Hammond B3 organ / Steve Johns-drums J&R Music, 23 Park Row, NYC, 800-221-8180 (Across from City Hall) Also, streaming on www.wbgo.org Savant Recording Artist Bob DeVos will perform at Live@J&R at 23 Park Row, NYC on Tuesday, November ...

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Performance / Tour

Bob DeVos Live Savant CD Release: WBGO 88.3FM Mid-Day Jazz from Live@J&R

Bob DeVos Live Savant CD Release: WBGO 88.3FM Mid-Day Jazz from Live@J&R

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

"The world-class guitarist who has performed with such notables as organist Charles Earland and saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Eric Alexander did not need a warm-up. He came out cooking ... a powerhouse trio that delivers"--Zan Stewart

Guitarist Bob DeVos Shifting Sands CD Savant Records Release Live@J&R and WBGO Jazz 88.3FM On-Air Plus Other Upcoming Performances Bob DeVos Live@J&R plus Live Broadcast Performance WBGOJazz 88.3FM's MID-DAY JAZZ ...

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Radio

WFDU-FM All Live Broadcast: John Tropea, Melvin Sparks, Bob Devos on Saturday, 2/21

WFDU-FM All Live Broadcast: John Tropea, Melvin Sparks, Bob Devos on Saturday, 2/21

Source: All About Jazz

On Saturday 2/21/4, “Sounds of Blue" Extended edition will be a 6 hour all live performance broadcast at our new recording studio at 89.1 WFDU-FM in Teaneck NJ, also streaming on the worldwide web: www.WFDU.FM. The show will air from 6pm till Midnight.

This show closes the WFDU February Fund drive, and we will be taking pledges during the broadcast. Featured performers are: John Tropea's Band, Melvin Sparks, Jerry Vivino, Rob Paparozzi, Bob DeVos trio, Tommy Mitchell, Terry Silverlight's group ...

"Guitarist Bob DeVos exemplifies what to look for in a mainstream jazz artist: a rich, round tone around a glowing center, a profound rhythmic capacity, a hearty swing, a creative thinker who seeks the best notes for a given situation and executes them seemingly without effort. He presents top-rate material in a way that is both inventive and accessible. He digs dep into his disttinctive, prodigious style which is deeply rooted in both the bebop and beyond idiom and his blues acumen....the world class guitarist didn't need a warm-up. He came out smoking." —Zan Stewart, SPOTLIGHT

"Radiating keen intelligence and impeccable taste, DeVos’ playing extends beyond the parameters of the soul-jazz genre

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Primary Instrument

Guitar, electric

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Six String Solos

American Showplace Music
2016

buy

Bob DeVos: Shadow Box

American Showplace Music
2013

buy

Playing For Keeps

Savant Records
2007

buy

Shifting Sands

Savant Records
2006

buy

DeVos

Blues Leaf Records
2004

buy

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