Dave Ness

Dave Ness is an experienced guitarist, educator, and clinician. His first text, “Playing Guitar In A Jazz Ensemble” is a resource for guitarists, teachers, and ensemble directors. His interest in the Freddie Green guitar style for jazz ensemble began in the late 1990s with an article published in the Jazz Educators Journal. Since that time, he has taught guitar and directed jazz ensembles at schools such as Northwestern University, Carthage College, the College of Lake County, and Libertyville High School. He has maintained an active private studio ranging from youth through professional students, and his students have gone on to conservatory programs and professional performance careers. This wide range of experience – from beginning student to accomplished performer – has fueled his interest in developing effective tools for working with the guitar within the jazz ensemble. This experience is at the heart of “Playing Guitar In A Jazz Ensemble.”

A Chicago-based guitarist, Dave Ness is known for his “superlative skill on the guitar” (Chicago Jazz Magazine). He has released three albums of original compositions with the Dave Ness Trio: “Sketches,” “Layers,” and “Grooveness.” An accomplished arranger and composer, Dave’s works have been published and performed by other jazz artists and jazz ensembles. He has had the honor of performing with Clark Terry, Tito Puente, Denis DiBlasio, Jim Pugh, Antonio Garcia, Victor Garcia, Tito Carillo, among others. Dave is accomplished in many guitar styles, and often performs cabarets and recitals with his wife, singer and Professor Corinne Ness.