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THE RETURN OF ACOUSTIC GUITARIST JACK WESTCelebrating the release of two new albums: Guitars On Life and Essential Curvature
A prolific musician, composer and inventor, Jack West is a singular guitarist with an immediately recognizable sound. Between 1994 and 2003 he released five albums that received widespread critical acclaim, while performing regularly at leading festivals and venues including SXSW, Atlanta Jazz Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Yoshi’s, and The Freight. But in 2009 he hit the pause button on his recording and performing career to focus on inventing new musical instruments and solar technologies, pursuits that both bore abundant fruit. Now, after a decade off the radar, he’s back on the Bay Area scene with multiple musical projects, including two new albums slated for release in January 2026, all featuring his virtuosic acoustic guitar playing.
Characterized by uncommon rhythmic dexterity, exploratory slide guitar work and a uniquely grooving, percussive acoustic style, West’s playing was described by The Oakland Tribune as sounding “like something never heard before... nothing short of astounding.” His recordings with his band Curvature have elicited extravagant praise, with Cadence Magazine calling his music “subtle, sensuous, accomplished, and mature,” while NPR declared his output “a whole new sub-genre of jazz.”
More than a reintroduction, Guitars On Life marks West’s return to recording and performing after a successful stint in the solar power industry. West is also celebrating the release of Essential Curvature, an anthology drawn from his five Curvature albums. The double vinyl and streaming release, also set for January 2026, features remastered tracks that showcase the surging energy, refined textures and fierce interactivity that first brought West renown.
Rather than a tributary to the mighty river of jazz, it might be more accurate to say West’s music represents a new stream of American acoustic music, an improvisation-laced sound influenced by jazz, but equally engaged with rock, folk, and funk. In many ways he was an early exemplar of the acoustic guitar virtuosi who followed in the percussive footsteps of Michael Hedges (1953 –1997), a world that’s expanded in recent years with YouTube sensations like Marcin, Alexandr Misko, and Luka Stricognoli.
While West shares with these artists an expansive toolkit of impressive percussive techniques, his music is far less about blazing through fully composed pieces and more about innovative grooves and ensemble interplay, with space for impromptu invention.
With his stunning new acoustic guitar duo album, West offers fans of acoustic guitar virtuosity a jaw-dropping sojourn. Guitars On Life presents a captivating collection of steel string duets with fellow guitar explorer Walter Strauss, best known for his extensive work with Malian artists (particularly kora master Sidiki Diabaté and ngoni innovator Mamadou Sidibe). With West supplying the bass, chords, and percussion lines of an entire rhythm section, his bass notes popping due to a thumb pick of his own invention, Strauss overlays expertly filigreed melodies. The result is a surprisingly large, full band sound emanating from just two acoustic guitars.
For his concert at The Freight, Jack West will open with his acoustic guitar duo in celebration of the new LP Guitars On Life, followed by a new Curvature ensemble featuring vibraphonist Lalo, bassist Gary Brown, and drummer Josh Jones in celebration of the double-LP retrospective Essential Curvature.
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