The John Monteleone, “Art of the Guitar” Festival, named for renowned guitar craftsman John Monteleone, will feature demonstrations, exhibits, workshops and performances at the Jazz Loft, located at 275 Christian Avenue in Stony Brook. The festival, which kicked off Aug. 1 with an opening reception, will continue on Aug. 2 and 3. Performances will include Laurence Juber, The Anthony Wilson Organ Trio, Frank Vignola & Pasquale Grasso, and Martin Taylor &Allison Burns.
Recognized as being one of the finest living archtop guitar and mandolin makers in the world today, Monteleone has been at the forefront of innovative cutting-edge archtop instrument making for many years. A resident of Islip, New York, Monteleone has been pushing the luthier envelope for more than 40 years with his refreshing passion for new and elegant designs. Producing instruments of great tonal expression with stunning artistic beauty is also one of Monteleone’s missions in life.
Currently, Monteleone is being honored with an exclusive exhibit of his guitars at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook. The exhibit, Musical Masterworks: John Monteleone’s Guitars and Other Instruments, runs through October 13, 2024.
During John’s workshop on Saturday, August 3, guitarist Steve Salerno will join John to bring these incredible instruments to life and display their exquisite sound and history.
“It’s a privilege to present such a world-class Guitar Jazz Festival,” said Tom Manuel, founder of the Jazz Loft. “Audiences will experience the incredible music, the artistry of these iconic guitars, and be up close with the performers as well as the guitars displayed in the gallery. John’s importance to this music, and Festival, is the best reflection of what Jazz represents.”
The music from world-known musicians is just part of the allure of the festival. For guitar aficionados, there will be plenty to look at. The festival will once again feature the Iconic & Historic Guitar Gallery, displaying two of the Archtop Foundation’s Blue Guitars, George Benson’s 1958 D’Angelico New Yorker, Frank Sinatra’s longtime guitarist, Al Viola’s Epiphone, Bucky Pizzarelli’s first guitar and over 20 guitars rarely seen. Two once-in-a-lifetime surprises are also in the works to be shown publicly at the event.
The vision of a Blue Guitar Collection came from vintage guitar collector, the late Scott Chinery, a major figure in the vintage guitar world. “Often thought that it would be neat to get all the greatest builders together and have them interpret the same guitar, an 18-inch archtop, in the same color blue,” Chinery said. The Collection, now owned by the Archtop Foundation, is continuing the tradition of inviting the industry’s top luthiers to build new expressions of the original concept.
The schedule for the festival, all taking place inside The Jazz Loft, is below:
Friday, August 2, 2024:
5 p.m. performance by Laurence Juber
7 pm. Performance by The Anthony Wilson Organ Trio
Saturday, August 3, 2024:
12 p.m. Guitar Workshop with John Monteleone & Steve Salerno
4 p.m. performance by Frank Vignolo & Pasquale Grasso
7 p.m. performance by Martin Taylor & Alison Burns
For information, please visit https://www.thejazzloft.org/monteleone.
The Jazz Loft is located at 275 Christian Avenue in Stony Brook. Tickets for the guitar festival can be purchased here: https://www.thejazzloft.org/tickets
