Bud Tristano
Free Guitarist

A pianist by birth, Bud was so turned off by the way music was taught in public school and by private teachers, that he gave it up by the time he was ten years old.

When he discovered The Beatles and Eric Clapton he knew that he had to get to the bottom of what this was all about. His quest became even more compelling when he started listening to Led Zeppelin, his favorite band of all. He then began the long journey of teaching himself rock guitar, learning to love all music along the way. Bud feels that the basic rock guitar/amp setup as a music delivery vehicle is one of the greatest innovations of the twentieth century.

Bud plays rock inspired guitar, influenced primarily by Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, and Edward Van Halen. Frank Zappa is his favorite guitarist of all. Two of his formative influences were Niccolò Paganini and Django Reinhardt. His free-form playing has been inspired by Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky. Today, two of his favorite guitarists to hear live are Jeff Beck and Steve Vai. Bud's website makes an attempt to credit all of his other inspirations and influences.

Bud's first CD, "Primal Elegance", a duet with pianist Connie Crothers, was released December 2001 on New Artists Records. This duo's first public performance was at Faust Harrison Pianos in New York City, October 2002.

A highlight gig for Bud occurred in the spring of 2005 when he performed with Connie and vocalist Cheryl Richards in a Brooklyn loft. An intimate setting, this afternoon of free improvisation also included saxophonist Richard Tabnik and clarinetist Bill Payne.

In April 2007 Bud participated as a panelist in the Lennie Tristano Symposium at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Bud calls himself a free guitarist because he plays only what he feels like playing!

For more info, visit: www.budtristano.com