| Who's Bob Wolfman? |
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Bob Wolfman is an exciting and compelling performer with emotion and power to inspire even the most blase listeners, chops and technical virtuosity to quiet even the most discerning critic, and he truly loves to play and sing his heart out.  Bob Wolfman Growing up in The Bronx, New York City during the sixties, in a very musical neighborhood and climate surely didn't stunt Bob's musical growth. As a young boy, Bob could hear the voices of local teenagers singing Doo-Wop in the alleyways right outside his window. His parents often played classical music on the stereo, and they frequently took Bob to concerts, plays and musicals on Broadway. Often, when returning home from school on any given day, Bob could hear some very tasty and inspiring guitar licks projected from the fifth story window of the next building on his block. It was in fact his lifelong friend Arlen Roth (founder of Hot Licks videos), one of the most innovative guitarists on the planet playing those licks. There were several pro musicians right on his block. Bob started playing guitar at age 11, and started performing in summer camp at 13 years of age, playing rock and pop tunes of the sixties, the stuff on the radio of the day. Then along came Jimi Hendrix, Bob's lifelong hero Jeff Beck, Clapton with Cream, and everything exploded from there. With the advent of the British invasion Bob had decided that he simply had to pursue a career in music no matter what. He became completely obsessed with the guitar, practicing day and night, cutting school to have all day and night jam sessions with friends all over New York City. It wasn't unusual for Bob to play until the sun came up, either alone or with fellow musicians. Heavily into the Blues all through his teens, Bob wore out the grooves on his record albums, tediously copying licks from his favorite players. B.B.King, Albert King , Mike Bloomfield, Kim Simmons, Peter Green, Muddy Waters, Duane Allman. and of course Eric Clapton to name a few. Having become a fairly proficient Blues player by age 16, Bob started doing some session work in Manhatten, but all the while he still jammed with anybody available whenever possible with the intent of honing his skills. He performed in outdoor concerts in parks in his own neighborhood, and around New York City, school concerts, and playing up in the Catskill mountain resorts on weekends. After High School, Bob virtually lived in clubs all over New York City, but particularly in Manhatten and especially the Village. Clubs like The Bottom Line, The Vanguard, The Village Gate, The Blue Note, The Other End, Max's Kansas City, and Sweet Basil's became Bob's stomping grounds. It was here that Bob met one his guitar heros, the brilliant Larry Coryell (jazz fusion pioneer), and Bob began studying with him soon after. Bob was hanging out with a ton of biggies on the Jazz fusion scene in New York at that time. He played at the famous Boomers Jazz club in the Village with another one of his favorite guitar idols, the great Joe Beck. While staying with friend Hiram Bullock (guitarist for Late Night with David Letterman) and roommate Cliff Carter (Keyboards with James Taylor), it wasn't unusual for people like Marc Egan and Danny Gottlieb from the Pat Methaney Group to show up for an all night jam session. Sometimes drummers like Steve Jordan or Victor Lewis would come by as well. Clubbing, jamming, recording, playing and hanging out with the likes of The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Larry Coryell and his Eleventh house band, and dozens of jazz shows definitely enriched and heightened Bob's musical standards and sensibility.  The Wolfman Jammin' He told Bob to get properly trained and schooled in music theory, sight reading and get into music school as Hiram himself had already done. It was that night when Bob decided to take the plunge. Bob moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College Of Music and he graduated with a Performance Degree. He continued performing regularly in all types of bands and music ensembles all over New England. Everything from Jazz-Funk and Jazz-Rock Fusion for musical growth and experimentation, to R&B, Top 40 and Pop/Rock show bands to help pay the bills. Bob has performed with jazz giants like keyboard genius Chick Corea, sax great Grover Washington Jr.("Mister Magic"), John Payne(sax player with Van Morrison), Blues singer Toni Lynn Washington, Blues and Jazz Harmonica icon Mike "Turk" Richards, Bluesman James Montgomery, and many more over the last twenty years since his days at Berklee College. In September of 1983 Bob opened Wolfman's School Of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Quite ironic, considering his own reluctance to attend music school himself as a young player. The school was and still is an affordable alternative for those seeking quality music instruction. It offered a wide variety of theory courses, private instruction on all contemporary instruments, ensemble programs, audio engineering courses in a fully equipped pro recording studio and it also served as a prep school for Berklee and other music college programs. Wolfman's became a very well respected name and is still ubiquitous in New England. Bob loves many styles, but his preferred playing/performance genres are Jazz, Blues and Rock. Having played in every type of ensemble imaginable since the age of 13,( even a killer Latin/ Salsa band for almost two years) he's an extremely versatile guitarist. Fronting his own band "Wolfman", Bob still performs regularly with a host of the finest musicians around on the East Coast. Much to the delight of his fans, he's just released his long awaited new CD. Drawing from a wide array of styles, Bob has created a collection of songs that reflect his different influences, ranging from Rock, Jazz, Funk, Pop and of course Blues. You can see and hear Bob with his band this Fall in the New York and New Jersey areas, as Bob has recently relocated to New Jersey...after all these years!...and expect a tour to be scheduled soon. |