Honors College to Host Jazz Guitarist Jake Hertzog

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Jazz guitarist Jake Hertzog.

This spring's Honors College House Concert takes a turn from past classical offerings to jazz by Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane and original compositions by guitar player and Department of Music faculty member Jake Hertzog.

The Jake Hertzog Trio, featuring Hertzog on guitar, Chris Teal on drums and Drew Packard on bass will perform from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in the Honors Student Lounge, Gearhart Hall 130. Light refreshments will be served, and the free event is open to the public. Please RSVP and come early to reserve your seat in this intimate space.

Jake Hertzog is a critically acclaimed guitarist, composer and educator who has recorded nine albums across jazz, rock and classical new music styles. He has toured throughout the U.S., Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and India, but recently chose to move his home base from New York City to Fayetteville, where he teaches in the Department of Music in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

"Over the years, I've gone from wanting to be on the road as a touring musician to sort of falling in love with teaching," he said. "It's been wonderful so far, because I feel like I have a balance in my life between making music I want to make and being given the gift to study and teach simultaneously. There's an artistic purity that comes with that — you have the freedom to pursue ideas, and if you're constantly on the road, you may not get those chances."

Hertzog plans to perform selections from his most recent album, Well Lit Shadow (2016), a classical suite for solo electric guitar that was inspired by themes and images in particle physics.

"My father's a particle physicist, and I like to keep up with what's going on. A few years ago I rediscovered photos that used to hang in Dad's office - particle collisions that look like modern art. I thought, what kind of thematic music could I write about this? It's something so singular, measuring objects so infinitesimally small, but the implications are so profound."

Hertzog is working with an animator and hopes to present Well Lit Shadow at scientific institutes in the U.S. and abroad.

"It's definitely an homage to folks who do that kind of work, asking questions about the universe," he said.

The Hertzog Trio will also debut new music not yet recorded at this concert.

Hertzog is co-leader and co-songwriter of the rock band The Young Presidents with bassist Mitch Kaneff. Their latest album, Firehorse (2016) recently debuted to wide radio success. Hertzog also worked as musical director and lead guitarist for Nickelodeon's the Naked Brothers Band stars, Nat and Alex Wolff. They concluded two national tours and have performed on national television shows including Good Morning America, The View, Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards and The Today Show.

Hertzog's recent master classes and clinics include Jazz at Lincoln Center, CUNY, Jazztravaganza at the Clarion Performing Arts Center in Lake Jackson, Texas, Turku Conservatory in Finland, EMU Conservatory in Argentina, Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA., Women In Jazz in Halle, Germany and a faculty position at the Swarnhaboomi Academy of Music in Chennai, India.

Under the alias "Hey Jazz Guy," Hertzog contributed more than 30 articles to Guitar Player magazine's "Lessons" section. Guitar Player has coined him the "Jazz ambassador to the non-jazz world." Readers can visit the Official Hey Jazz Guy website for articles and tutorial videos.

Hertzog is also a grand prize winner of the Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition, holds a performance degree from Berklee College of Music and a master's degree from The Manhattan School of Music in New York.