Two Jazz Guitarists Make Musical Magic

Contributed by Jude Hibler on 3/27/08

New York guitarist Gene Bertoncini and Longmont (via Philadelphia) guitarist Dale Bruning join together in a duo setting Friday, April 11th from 7:30-9 pm at The Cellar in Todd Skaw’s Guitars, etc. Located at 460 A Main Street in Longmont, Guitars, etc. and Jazz Link Enterprises, a recording, concert production, and graphic art company also based in Longmont, are the sponsors for this event. Tickets are $15 and reservations can be made by calling Guitars, etc. at 303-776-8388.

Bertoncini, the guitarist in Doc Severinsen’s Tonight Show band during the Johnny Carson host-era, has worked with Lena Horne, Michael Moore, Zoot Sims, Buddy Rich, and Michel Legrand, among others, has been described by the late New Yorker magazine critic, Whitney Balliet as “an affecting, highly original guitarist who moves easily back and forth between classical and jazz guitar.”

He has worked as a solo performer at Le Madeline’s in Manhattan for the past 20 years. He has authored a music instruction book, recorded many times as a leader and on other recordings, and tours extensively.

Bruning, originally from Pennsylvania, moved to Denver in 1964 and to Longmont in 1995. He has worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Michael Moore, Jim Hall, and Erroll Garner, among others. A composer, arranger, author, recording artist, educator, as well as a performer, he teamed up with Jazz Link Enterprises’ owner, writer and graphic artist Jude Hibler in 1996. They prepare and present their signature “Timeless Music of Great Composer” concerts in such diverse settings as performing art centers, churches, senior centers, and clubs.

Critic Andy Ellis of Guitar Player magazine said: “Bruning’s creative, hip arrangements reveal a deep bag of tricks [sic] that allow him to make the familiar sound fresh.”
Bertoncini and Bruning have been performing together in both New York and Colorado since 2004.

Jazz Link Enterprises
www.jazzlinkenterprises.com