Mel Bay Art of Picking
Born in Philadelphia on July 22, 1953, Jimmy Bruno was first exposed to music by his parents at a very early age. His mother was a singer and his father, Jimmy Bruno, Sr., was a notable jazz guitarist who was best known for his performance in 1959 on the hit recording "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" with Frank Virtue and the Virtues. When Bruno was about eight his childhood love for music began to develop when his father brought home what would be Jimmy’s first guitar. As a child, he never had any formal training, but instead absorbed the life altering sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, John Coltrane and Oscar Peterson.  In 1973, when Bruno was just nineteen, he landed his first big gig when Buddy Rich came to Philly holding auditions for a guitarist. He spent the next year on the road with Buddy, receiving quite a musical education. When he returned to Philadelphia in 1974, he found few gigs as a jazz musician and decided to try his luck playing in Las Vegas, finally settling in Los Angeles as a studio musician. In the end it wasn’t the place or the music he loved. Since his return to Philly in 1988, Jimmy Bruno has created a name that is synonymous with jazz guitar, recording numerous albums for Concord Records and now for Mel Bay Records. In addition to his new album with Mel Bay Records, Jimmy Bruno has recently been featured in three, live concert DVDs released through Mel Bay Records - Jimmy Bruno: Live at Chris’ Café, Volumes 1 and 2 and Jimmy Bruno and Jack Wilkins: Live at The Theatre. Jimmy is also a Mel Bay author who to date has written several instructional books for six and seven string jazz guitar. Jimmy Bruno is co-chair of the Jazz Guitar Department at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA and is a featured writer for Just Jazz Guitar Magazine.