David Fiuczynski

David Fiuczynski
David Fiuczynski performs at Moers Festival (2007)
David Fiuczynski performs at Moers Festival (2007)
Background information
Born (1964-03-05) March 5, 1964 (age 60)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
GenresAvant-garde jazz, jazz fusion, rock
OccupationMusician
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1983–present
LabelsFuzelicious Morsels, RareNoise
Websitewww.torsos.com

David Fiuczynski (born March 5, 1964) is an American contemporary jazz guitarist, best known as the leader of the Screaming Headless Torsos and David Fiuczynski's KiF, and as a member of Hasidic New Wave.[1] He has played on more than 95 albums as a session musician, band leader, or band member.

Though born in the United States, his family moved to Germany when he was 8 years old and remained until he was 19. He returned to the US to study at Hampshire College and later the prestigious New England Conservatory. He received a Bachelor of Music from the latter in 1989. After living in New York City for more than a decade, he now resides in Massachusetts and is a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.[2]

Fiuczynski describes himself as "a jazz musician who doesn't want to play just jazz." Many of his albums have thematic material associated with one or more additional genres. For example, Screaming Headless Torsos emphasizes jazz-funk fusion; and Hasidic New Wave blends jazz with Semitic and African music. His album Jazz Punk is a collection of standards and covers written by his idols and mentors where each tune was reworked in distinctive musical combinations.

In 2005, Fiuczynski was hired by former Police drummer Stewart Copeland for the band Gizmo, which toured in Italy in July 2005. Starting in 2007, he has toured with trumpeter Cuong Vu and with jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara, and appeared on the latter's albums Time Control and Beyond Standard.

In 2012 he started Planet MicroJam, an institute exploring the use of microtones in jazz, ethnic folk and other contexts.[3]

Fiuczynski is the guitarist on the 2013 album Gamak by alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa.[4]

In 2024, Fiuczynski became a teacher on Til where he started teaching online guitar lessons focused on jazz, blues, and theory.[5]

Discography

As leader or co-leader

  • 1991 Trio + Two with Cindy Blackman, Santi Debriano (Freelance)
  • 1994 Lunar Crush with John Medeski (Gramavision)
  • 2000 Jazz Punk (Fuzelicious Morsels)
  • 2002 Black Cherry Acid Lab (Fuzelicious Morsels)
  • 2003 Kif with Rufus Cappadocia (Fuzelicious Morsels)
  • 2005 Boston T Party with Dennis Chambers, Jeff Berlin, T Lavitz (Mascot)
  • 2008 Kif Express (Fuzelicious Morsels)
  • 2012 Planet Microjam (RareNoise)
  • 2016 Flim! Blam! (RareNoise)

With Hasidic New Wave

  • 1997 Jews and the Abstract Truth
  • 1998 Psycho-Semitic
  • 1999 Kabalogy
  • 2001 From the Belly of Abraham

With Screaming Headless Torsos

  • 1995 Screaming Headless Torsos
  • 2000 Live in NYC
  • 2001 Amandala
  • 2001 Live!!
  • 2002 1995
  • 2005 2005
  • 2014 Code Red

As co-leader

With Philipp Gerschlauer [de]

  • Mikrojazz! (2017)

As sideman

With Hiromi

With others

References

  1. ^ Lehner, David (4 March 2013). "David Fiuczynski: In the In Between". All About Jazz. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  2. ^ "David Fiuczynski | Berklee College of Music". Berklee. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  3. ^ Gluckin, Tzvi (30 September 2014). "David Fiuczynski: Mega Micro Man". Premier Guitar. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  4. ^ Jarenwattananon, Patrick (20 January 2013). "First Listen: Rudresh Mahanthappa, 'Gamak'". NPR.org. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  5. ^ Fiuczynski, David. "Private guitar lessons with David Fiuczynski". Til. Retrieved 24 September 2024.