Mel Bay's Complete Book Jazz Guitar: Lines & Phrases
Sid Jacobs grew up in Miami, Florida and began guitar lessons at the age of seven. As a teenager he became serious about jazz playing and would study and practice by day and sneak into the jazz clubs at night. When the Jacobs family moved to Nevada he obtained a position as guitar instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This made him, at eighteen, the youngest faculty member in the school's music department. While living in Nevada Sid found work in the hotel pit orchestras, and as touring accompanist to a number of celebrity singers and jazz artists.After moving to Los Angeles he developed the curriculum for the Jazz Guitar elective at the Musicians Institute (GIT) and the Advanced Bebop and Jazz Guitar course at the Dick Grove School. In 1991 the CD It's Not Goodnight was released featuring his original compositions and improvisations.Through his involvement in education, his personal associations with jazz notables, and his own discipline Sid continues to gain recognition as an influential educator, composer, and performing artist. In reviewing a live performance, Los Angeles Times jazz critic Don Heckman characterized him in this way: "…a highly articulate improvisor…Never at a loss for a new phrase, his improvisations seemed to unfold with the ever-changing fascination of a set of Bach variations."Sid currently divides his time among his pursuits as GIT instructor, musical equipment manufacturer's consultant, performance and recording artist, and jazz clinician.