Album Notes

Bruce Radtke is a New York based jazz guitarist and composer. He has gigged professionally in Boston, Los Angeles and NYC, and earned a B.A. from Boston's Berklee College of Music He is proud to release his first full-length solo CD, Long Time Passing. Drawn to the music of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton at the age of 8, Radtke picked up the guitar, learning songs by ear. Along the way, he got into an expanding range of influences: Salif Keita, Eddie Palmeri, Mozart and Santana. Later, he was drawn to the spirit and freedom of improvisation, particularly jazz. He attended Berklee, and was one of the first 15 students to graduate from their Applied Music Program. Here, he had the good fortune of studying with Bill Frisell. After college, he played around Boston, and taught at the Cincotti School of Music. He then moved to L.A., where he lived for 10 years, gigging and recording with local mainstays Chuck Johnson's Interplay and Bill Given's Give And Take. Returning to New Jersey, Radtke has been playing around NYC and NJ with the jazz/funk band, Split Second. However, he has been concentrating on his guitar trio and their first CD. Like his early teacher Bill Frisell, Bruce Radtke has delved deep into Americana, recording fresh interpretations of classic 60s folk and early rock. Long Time Passing features Radtke's clean, open guitar sounds and nice interplay from his trio -the bass and drums interact, but are never overbearing. Radtke cites Wayne Shorter and Keith Jarrett as primary influences, for their unique, personal tone. And with his warm, Metheny-influenced tone, boppish lines, and fresh re-workings of classic tunes, Radtke is well on his way to creating his own sound. Bruce Radtke is currently gigging around NYC in support of the CD.