Blues Guitar with Jim A.

Hello and thanks for considering lessons with me! I have been teaching all ages for over 20 years in Connecticut and I am also a performing singer-songwriter. I teach piano, guitar, voice, mandolin, bass, violin, saxophone, harmonica, songwriting, and more, including coaching students on a variety of instruments such as cello, banjo, accordion, etc. From my website here is my music bio. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New England singer-songwriter Jim Allyn is known for his freewheeling improvisations on mandolin, guitar, piano and harmonica. “He plays a lot of good bluegrass too,” according to the legendary Bill Monroe.* With a musical compass forged in roots, rock, country, blues, and gospel Allyn writes songs that cut a path straight to the heart and keep moving. This summer marks the release of his first full length album Backyards of the Brave, featuring all original works: true stories from train yards, backroads, battlefields and coal mines (see review below). Recent years have included multiple tour dates with folk legend Jonathan Edwards as a member of Edwards' band. Allyn has also performed extensively with Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul, and Mary) and at venues and festivals over the years including onstage jamming with Bela Fleck, Livingston Taylor, Dar Williams, Tom Chapin, Guy Davis, Christine Lavin, Vaneese Thomas, Chris Hillman of the Byrds, Newgrass Revival, Vassar Clements, legendary fiddler Kenny Baker, and many others. Allyn's multi-instrumental work and vocals are also heard on recordings by numerous regional artists. As Music Director and co-creator of the Flagpole Radio Cafe in Connecticut (2008-2014) Jim and the house band/ensemble garnered rave reviews: a "hit" show, according to the New York Times. The band, featuring Francine Wheeler, continues to do concerts each year and the show itself is likely to resume this year. Pianist Tom Snow offered this recent praise for Backyards of the Brave: "This album is a treasure. The amount of sonic and compositional variety is really quite incredible. One of the many wonderful attributes of this creation is that it stands up to multiple listenings. There is so much richness on many levels that I find myself hearing new things on successive listenings. Priority Gal and Lindytown and This Old Guitar and Jazzbo are real stand-outs for me. I love the compositional subtleties that inform the songs, especially chord choices! " --------------------------------------