Greetings and welcome to year seven of the most unusual, forward-thinking, open-minded guitar camp on the planet.

We have another round of extraordinary teachers this summer joining us in the glorious 100-acre wilderness retreat that Music Masters has cultivated over the past two decades.

Back again are two of our core teachers, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Gilad Hekselman, both of whom will be with us throughout the event. These are two of the finest and most inventive improvising guitarists in the world. Their artistry has affected the whole field.

We are thrilled to have one of the most important guitarists of our generation back again, John Scofield. This year John will not only give a master class, but he will jam with several of our artists on Wednesday night’s performance.

Also returning are Rodney Jones, Camila Meza, and Mike and Leni Stern. Rodney has played with artists as diverse as James Brown and Dizzy Gillespie. He’s one of the most sought-after guitar instructors in the country and was the main jazz guitar teacher at Juilliard and Manhattan School for many years. Camila turned a few heads last year. She’s a jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter originally from Chile, now recording for Sony Masterworks. Her writing blends South American rhythms and jazz harmony and her gorgeous singing voice conjures Milton Nascimento and Joni Mitchell. Mike and Leni Stern, perennial favorites, are both back for the 4th time. Mike, of course, is one of the signature electric guitarists of our era, starting in the 1980s with his tenure with Miles Davis. Leni specializes in bridging jazz with W. African sounds and voice. Both are beloved for their insightful, warm teaching style.

And… we’re beyond excited to introduce some wonderful new teachers next August.

The one and only Nels Cline will be with us. Nels has been on the leading edge of guitar exploration since the 1980’s. He’s released dozens of extraordinary records of all shapes and sizes as a leader and collaborator. Nels, a fearless improviser, is best known as a sideman in the rock band Wilco. Nels is funny, smart, eminently approachable, and wise.

And-ECM recording artist Wolfgang Muthspiel, an improvisor of extraordinary range on both electric and nylon string. He was awarded the Hans Koller Prize for outstanding jazz musician in Europe in 2003, has recorded and performed with Ralph Towner and Gary Burton, and leads one of the pre-eminent jazz education programs in the EU, Focusyear in Basel.

Once again Harvey Sorgen and Jerome Harris will be our “house” rhythm section. Like last year we’ll have four different spaces for after-hours jamming. And I’ll be there, too, of course, teaching and producing, and answering any questions you may have. We’ll be starting a monthly Zoom meeting in January for any attendees who wish to not only meet each other but begin to talk about the camp and its profuse learning opportunities. See you soon.

Joel Harrison
Founder and artistic director of Alternative Guitar Summit