David Fiuczynski: Fretless Guitar Clinic

Faculty guitarist David Fiuczynski presents a fretless guitar clinic. Topics will include intonation, playing blues slide riffs without a slide, non-Western melodic inflections, and microtonality.

Iconoclastic and prolific guitarist David "Fuze" Fiuczynski (of Screaming Headless Torsos), a jazz player who "doesn't want to play just jazz," has been hailed by the world press as an incredibly inventive guitar hero, who continues to deliver music that is unclassifiable, challenging, and invigorating. In 1994 Fiuczynski, in collaboration with keyboardist John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood, woke up the sleeping jazz fusion world with a landmark CD, Lunar Crush, which was chosen by Guitar Player's 30th Anniversary Edition as a Disc of Destiny. A funky, freaky party, Lunar Crush was a wild '90s tribute to Tony Williams's groundbreaking early fusion band, Lifetime.

Fiuczynski's recent music has been described as a fresh palette of otherworldly sounds using traditional melodic elements of Arabia, Asia, India, and Eastern Europe, with his signature brand of highly funky jams. Ranging from rocked-out madness to drum 'n' bass, go-go to plaintive meditations, Fiuczynski's wild guitar palette moves from high energy extravaganzas to moving, emotional ballads.

Fiuczynski leads the underground cult band Screaming Headless Torsos and has worked with Jack DeJohnette, Meshell Ndegeocello, Stewart Copeland (the Police), John Medeski, Dennis Chambers, Hasidic New Wave, Vinnie Colaiuta, Christian McBride, Hiromi, Cindy Blackman, Bernie Worrell, John Zorn, Vernon Reid, and many more.