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Page 1 of 5  John Stowell has spent the last thirty years developing a
reputation as one of the finest guitarists and educators in the country. John
has a unique playing style, holding the guitar almost upright like a cellist.
His incredible harmonic vocabulary has given him a personalized sound that has
become instantly recognizable to fans of jazz guitar. Along with his performing
career, John is also in high demand as a teacher and clinician. Over the years
John has taught courses and clinics at countless colleges, high schools and
performing arts camps throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America.
John took time out of his busy teaching and touring schedule
to discuss his influences, teaching experiences and advice for how to make it
as a self-promoting musician. All photos of John Stowell taken by Mark LaMoreaux.
MW: How did you get your start as a guitar teacher?
JS: That kind of happened very informally when I started
teaching some friends, then gradually in my late teens I started taking money
for it as I started to develop some expertise. But it was mostly learning on
the job and developing a methodology for teaching beginners.
Later, I started studying with two musicians Linc Chamberland,
who is kind of a local guitar hero in Connecticut,
and John Mehegan who taught at Julliard, then eventually at Yale. So I started
taking their ideas and concepts and began using them in my own teaching, and
then I kind of developed from there.
Around this time I started to teach at music stores as well
as private lessons, then in the late 70’s I started doing a few high school and
college clinics. So I got more comfortable talking to large groups of people. I
also started to develop my teaching concepts beyond guitarists and guitar
techniques. Teaching about other instruments, the group dynamic and other big
picture ideas became a part of my teaching repertoire.
MW: As you were studying with different people, did you have
non-guitar teachers that influenced your approach to teaching?
JS: Well, John Mehegan was a pianist, and actually he was
the first guy to label chords with numbers, like 2-5-1 for example. I’m not
sure if he invented the terms 2-5-1, or 3-6-2-5-1, but he was the first person
to put them in a book I think.
MW: I didn’t know that.
JS: So that certainly influenced me, and just about everybody,
at least in terms of how I think about harmony. When I talk to guitarists now,
I emphasize the importance of listening to piano players in terms of how to
accompany. When I think about pianists, their accompaniment is a lot more
developed in terms of the rhythmic component, isolating individual notes in the
bass, interior voice movement, etc
MW: To elaborate on the concept of studying piano players.
You are one of a handful of guys who plays the guitar in a pianistic style.
It’s very hard to do, as I’m sure you know, and takes a lot of time and
practice. I am wondering how much of an influence did players like Lenny Breau,
Ted Green and Ed Bickert, guitarists who played like pianists, have on your
playing. Or did you spend more of your time strictly studying pianists?
JS: I’m not sure if I studied them, but I was certainly
aware of their playing. I've listened to a number of Lenny's recordings, and
also to the work of Ted Greene, Ed Bickert and Jimmy Wyble. Jimmy just turned
87 and he still sounds fantastic.
Jimmy’s someone I’ve spent some time with over the last few
years and he has absolutely influenced my playing, especially my solo playing.
I wouldn’t say I was limited to only listening to pianists, I definitely
checked out other guitarists, who like me, were influenced directly from
pianists themselves.
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