About Jim Ferguson: Guitarist, Composer, Author, Educator, Journalist

About Jim Ferguson


For Jim's full biography, please see: Jim Ferguson's Biography on Wikipedia Described by Just Jazz Guitar Magazine as "a wonderful composer" and a guitarist with "impeccable technique," Jim Ferguson has enjoyed a unique career that has spanned both the jazz and classical realms as a performer, composer, and educator. He is also well known as a music journalist and is the author of several highly-praised jazz guitar instructional books. A former editor of Guitar Player Magazine, Jim is profiled in Maurice J. Summerfield's The Jazz Guitar—Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1900, and he contributed numerous entries to The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. In 1994, Jim was nominated for a Grammy Award for annotating Fantasy Records' 12-CD set Wes Montgomery: The Complete Riverside Recordings. He has also compiled several collections of historic performances for the Fantasy, Rhino, and Concord labels, and has written for many international publications, including JazzTimes, Down Beat, and Fingerstyle Guitar.
As a composer, Jim has written numerous pieces for solo guitar and various instrumental combinations. He contributed six pieces to Mel Bay's Contemporary Anthology of Solo Guitar Music for Five Fingers of the Right Hand (2009), edited by Charles Postlewate, and in 2010 Jim began publishing solo guitar works through Les Productions d'OZ, based in Quebec, Canada. Through Les Productions d'OZ, he has released 12 Simple Jazzy Studies, "Cirque du Soul," "Lady Di," "Requiem For A Fallen Artist," Film Noir—Four Scenes, Four Monsters, "Winedark Sea," Jazzotica, and 12 Semi-Simple Jazzy Studies. His music is featured on three solo CDs—Cedar & Silver (2004), Moonstone (2009), and 24 Jazzy Studies (2015)—which reflect classical, jazz, world, and other influences. Jim's music has been included in PBS, A&E, and ABC programming, and he has appeared on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition and performed in the U.S. and abroad. A noted educator, Jim has lectured and taught at California universities and colleges for over 25 years, and has taught privately for over 40 years. He has written several acclaimed jazz guitar instructional books, including All Blues For Jazz Guitar; All Blues Soloing For Jazz Guitar; All Blues Scale For Jazz Guitar; All Solos & Grooves For Jazz Guitar; All Intros & Endings For Jazz Guitar; Shapes, Patterns & Lines For Jazz Guitar; and Comping Standards For Jazz Guitar. He penned the instructional column Fundamental Perspectives for Great Britian's Classical Guitar Magazine, and was the editor of several volumes published by Guitar Solo Publications of San Francisco, including F. Moreno-Torroba's Castles Of Spain and an instructional series devoted to the studies of Leo Brouwer, Fernando Sor, and Matteo Carcassi. Jim was born in Dayton, Ohio, and began playing the guitar when he was 15. He has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland, California, and studied with George Barnes, Red Varner, Lenny Breau, Jose Rey de la Torre, and David Tanenbaum. Jim resides in Santa Cruz, California. Reviews, Honors, Awards Jim, his books, and his music continue to receive accolades. For a sampling of review comments, honors, and awards, please see Reviews. Lessons, Seminars, Performances Want to take your playing to the next level? Jim can help. He teaches jazz, classical guitar, and composition, and is available for private lessons in Santa Cruz, California. For more details, see Lessons. Jim is also available for seminars and performances—see Bookings: Workshops and Bookings: Solo Guitar for more information. Licensing Jim's music has been used in a wide variety of media, including PBS, A&E, and ABC programming. All of Jim's original music (Moonstone, Cedar & Silver, 24 Jazzy Studies, and various solo tracks) is available for licensing for television, film, radio, and the Internet. For more information or to obtain a license, please Contact Us.