- Bob deVos
Bob deVos is an American
jazz guitarist whose playing style is similar to that ofKenny Burrell andWes Montgomery . He is most noted for his work with organist Richard Holmes.Biography
Although no one in the family played a musical instrument, deVos spent much of his youth listening to the big band and blues records that his parents owned. He picked up the guitar at age twelve and within weeks he was memorizing guitar solos from these albums and performing professionally at age thirteen. As a teenager, he toured nationwide with a famous rock group, but chose jazz over rock in his twenties saying, "I needed more chord changes..."
Bob started in jazz as a student of
Harry Leahy and the legendaryDennis Sandole . In 1970, when Sandole sent his leading students out to audition for the brilliant organistTrudy Pitts , Bob was chosen to step in forPat Martino . Bob went on to be the guitarist for groups led by Richard "Groove" Holmes, featuring saxophone legendSonny Stitt , andJimmy McGriff andHank Crawford . He later toured and recorded extensively with organistCharles Earland ’s group that included Eric Alexander andJim Rotondi . He further developed his compositional and harmonic skills playing with many jazz greats outside theorgan trio genre.Currently deVos currently plays with an organ trio with who he has released the CD, "Shifting Sands". This album has spent 28 weeks in the top twenty on Jazz Week's Top 50 Nationwide Jazz Airplay Chart, putting him back in the jazz spotlight. Bob is also currently working on new material with the trio, but he will be playing several shows in New York and New Jersey through the end of 2007.
Equipment
Bob says that he plays a
Gibson Super 400 more than his other guitars; however, he claims his mainstay guitar is the Rob Engel custom archtop, designed by longtime friend Rob Engel. He also spends time tweaking his amps and has even built a few of his own, mostly out of parts from vintage Fender Amps such as the Twin Reverb and Showman.External links
* [http://bobdevosjazzguitar.com Official Website for Bob deVos]
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