Joshua Breakstone (born July 22, 1955) is an American jazz guitarist.

Joshua Breakstone
Born (1955-07-22) July 22, 1955 (age 69)
Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1977–present
LabelsContemporary, Double-Time, Capri
Websitejoshuabreakstone.com

Breakstone came into contact with the music business early in life through his parents and siblings. His sister was a lighting technician at the Fillmore East theater, where he saw musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa. Later, he became interested in jazz and was influenced by Charlie Parker and Lee Morgan. He studied with guitarist Sal Salvador in Manhattan. In 1972, he enrolled at the New College of the University of South Florida and graduated three years later. He continued studies at Berklee College of Music.

After living in Brazil for a few months, he returned to New York City, where he performed and taught. In 1979, he recorded with Canadian saxophonist Glen Hall, with Joanne Brackeen, Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart participating. Until 1983, when he recorded his debut album, he worked with Vinnie Burke, Warne Marsh, Emily Remler, and Aaron Bell. He taught privately and at the Rhode Island Conservatory of Music.

Beginning in 1986, Breakstone recorded four albums for Contemporary Records, with sidemen including Pepper Adams, Kenny Barron, Dennis Irwin, Jimmy Knepper, Tommy Flanagan, Keith Copeland, and Kenny Washington. In 1986 he went on his first tour of Japan. Since then, Breakstone has played twice a year in Japan. He has worked with Terumasa Hino, Monkey Kobayashi, and Eiji Nakamura. In 1991, he signed a contract with the Japanese label King Records, which released four albums: Walk Don't Run (with interpretations of Shadows and Ventures numbers such as "Telstar" and "Apache") and I Want to Hold Your Hand and Oh! Darling, two albums with Beatles compositions.

On Remembering Grant Green (Evidence, 1996), he worked with organist Jack McDuff and the drummer Al Harewood, who had been sideman for guitarist Grant Green. His album Sittin' on the Thing with Ming (Capri, 1994) contained many of his compositions. He followed that album with tributes to Thelonious Monk, Wes Montgomery, and Bud Powell. He recorded A Jamais (Capri, 2004) with French musicians Louis Petrucciani and Joël Allouche [de]. In 2005, the album Memoirs - The French Sessions, Vol. 2 was produced in France.

Discography

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Year recorded Title Label Personnel/Notes
1983 Wonderful Sonora With Barry Harris (piano), Earl Sauls (bass), Barry Williams (drums)[1]
1984 4/4 = 1 Sonora With Barry Harris (piano), Earl Sauls (bass), Victor Jones (drums)[2]
1987 Echoes Contemporary With Pepper Adams (baritone sax), Kenny Barron (piano) Dennis Irwin (bass), Keith Copeland (drums)[3]
1988 Evening Star Contemporary With Jimmy Knepper (trombone), Tommy Flanagan (piano), David Shapiro (bass), Keith Copeland (drums)[4]
1989 Self-Portrait in Swing Contemporary With Kenny Barron (piano), Dennis Irwin (bass), Kenny Washington (drums)[4]
1991 9 by 3 Contemporary With Dennis Irwin (bass), Kenny Washington (drums)[4]
1991 Walk Don't Run King With Kenny Barron (piano), Dennis Irwin (bass), Kenny Washington (drums)[5][6]
1992 I Want to Hold Your Hand (The Compositions of the Beatles Vol. 1) Paddle Wheel With Kenny Barron (piano), Dennis Irwin (bass), Kenny Washington (drums)[4]
1992 Oh! Darling (The Compositions of the Beatles Vol. 2) Paddle Wheel With Kenny Barron (piano), Dennis Irwin (bass), Kenny Washington (drums)[4]
1993 Sittin' on the Thing with Ming Capri With Kenny Barron (piano), Ray Drummond (bass), Keith Copeland (drums)[4]
1993 Remembering Grant Green Evidence With Kenny Barron (piano), Jack McDuff (organ), Ray Drummond (bass), Al Harewood and Keith Copeland (drums)[4]
1996 Let's Call This Monk! Double-Time With Dennis Irwin (bass), Mickey Roker (drums)[5]
1999 This Just In... Double Time With Sid Simmons (piano), Dennis Irwin (bass), Kenny Washington (drums)[5]
2000 The Music of Bud Powell Double Time With Earl Sauls (bass), Keith Copeland (drums)[5]
2002 Tomorrow's Hours Capri With Earl Sauls (bass), Keith Copeland (drums)[5]
2003 A Jamais Capri With Louis Petrucciani (bass), Joel Allouche (drums)[5]
2004 Memoire: The French Sessions Vol. 2 Capri With Louis Petrucciani (bass), Christian Salut (drums)[5]
2009? No One New Capri With Lisle Atkinson (bass), Eliot Zigmund (drums)[7]
2013? With the Wind and the Rain Capri With Mike Richmond (cello), Lisle Atkinson (bass), Eliot Zigmund (drums)[8]
2015? 2nd Avenue: The Return of the Cello Quartet Capri With Mike Richmond (cello), Lisle Atkinson (bass), Andy Watson (drums)[8]
2016? 88 Capri With Mike Richmond (cello), Lisle Atkinson (bass), Andy Watson (drums)[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Joshua Breakstone: Wonderful". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  2. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Joshua Breakstone Quartet: 4/4 = 1". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Joshua Breakstone: Echoes". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1996). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (3rd ed.). Penguin. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-14-051368-4.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. ^ "Joshua Breakstone Quartet: Walk Don't Run". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  7. ^ Nastos, Michael G. "Joshua Breakstone:No One New". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Yanow, Scott (September 2015). "Joshua Breakstone: 2nd Avenue – The Return of the Cello Quartet". DownBeat. Vol. 82, no. 9. p. 63.
  9. ^ Protzman, Bob (January 2017). "Joshua Breakstone Cello Quartet: 88". DownBeat. Vol. 84, no. 1. p. 71.

Sources

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