Biography

Originally from Detroit, Alan Joseph continues to be a musical catalyst in the Pike’s Peak Region and Denver.  Presently he is instructor of Guitar in the Jazz and Commercial Music Department at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. Along with his studio teaching at Lamont, Alan is part of the acclaimed Lamont Jazz Faculty Combo “The Climb.”

 Colorado Springs’s own, Alan Joseph is getting attention beyond the Rockies with unique ensemble works that range far beyond the music normally associated with Jazz guitar headliners.

  Alan’s recording Heavy Water Music, available on Fahrenheit Records (www.CDNow.com), was released to wide critical acclaim and he has appeared in Guitar Player, Guitar, and JAZZIZ magazines.  When the highly regarded Jazz station KRCC named its top 10 albums a few years ago, Earl Klugh, the Crusaders and Harry Connick all made the list. Guess who was No.1?  Alan Joseph, with his independently produced release Heavy Water Music. Joseph and his trio, H₃O have received rave reviews in JAZZIZ and an article in Guitar refers to Joseph’s playing as “like Pat Metheny, he also has a feel for new melodies that sound familiar. We’re talking ear-candy here, the kind that always finds an audience.”

Among the many musical adventures that satisfy Alan include performances with Denver’s Creative Music Works Orchestra, Maria Schneider, Dave Valentin, Herb Ellis, and Rich Chiaraluce.

Listening to Alan, one can always expect to hear elements of “Straight Ahead” Jazz, Funk, Rhythm and Blues, and even some off-beat “Poetry Jazz” (which at one time involved placing microphones inside watermelons!).  When performing with H₃O (which includes Randy Bowen on drums and Marc Neihof on bass) you can expect a gourmet menu of musical selections from Jazz standards of the Swing, Bebop, and Cool periods to the current trend of contemporary Fusion.

“Another intriguing newcomer to the contemporary jazz scene is also a gifted, well-rounded composer who just happens to be a guitarist. ... Joseph’s attraction to Pat Metheny and Weather Report is evident, yet he manages to lead these influences into some interesting territories of his own.” JAZZIZ

“Alan plays with a sense of joy and freedom.”  "Alan Joseph’s Heavy Water Music moves from clean, Holdsworthian Prog-Rock with stuttering, syncopated drums into airy Methenyesque dreamscapes. With layers of acoustic and electric textures, Alan’s colorful arrangements demonstrate his great ear for orchestrating contrasting guitar tones.” Guitar Player

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