There’s a certain breed of musician who doesn’t just play music—they bend time with it. John Jorgenson is one of those cats. He’s roamed the far edges of the American soundscape, from the sun-bleached twang of country radio hits to the smoke-ring swirl of 1930s Parisian cafés.
Some call him a guitar god. Others say he’s a musical shapeshifter. Either way, he’s not your average fretboard flyer.
Born and bred in Southern California, Jorgenson grew up with more instruments than most kids had action figures.
“I started piano at four, clarinet at eight, and guitar at ten,” he tells me, flashing the grin of a man who’s never quite lost that childhood obsession.
By the time he was a teenager, he was jumping from garage rock jams to wind ensembles without missing a beat. No rules. No borders. Just music.
In the ‘80s, Jorgenson lit up the country world with the Desert Rose Band—a crew of serious pickers who racked up five No. 1 singles and a truckload of acclaim.
“They called us virtuosos,” he says, as if that label ever meant anything to someone with his range.
He took home the Academy of Country Music’s “Guitarist of the Year” award three years running. Nashville knew his name. So did Elton John, Bob Dylan, Pavarotti—and even Little Richard, who once told him:
“You make my big toe rise up in my boot.”
That’s as high a blessing as it gets.
But beneath all that glitz and gold records, Jorgenson had a secret. He was hooked—hard—on the mysterious, flickering flame of Gypsy jazz.
Django Reinhardt was the reason.
“When I discovered Django, I thought—this is it. This is the sound I want to chase for the rest of my life.”
Problem was, America wasn’t ready for it. Not back then. So Jorgenson kept that fire burning in the background, sneaking off to French festivals and smoky jam sessions while still killing it on country records.
That’s when the John Jorgenson Quintet was born.
Now, nearly 20 years later, the JJQ is one of the most electrifying live acts in the modern jazz underground.
Imagine this:
Five wizards casting spells in a flurry of strings, reeds, and rhythm. Jorgenson himself leads the charge, swapping between guitar, clarinet, and Greek bouzouki with the confidence of a man who’s lived a dozen musical lives.
Each setlist is a kaleidoscope—swing one minute, Latin licks the next, a flamenco-flavored detour just around the corner.
“It’s a high-wire act,” he says. “We almost never play two songs in a row with the same instrumentation. That keeps it alive. That keeps it dangerous.”
They don’t do safe.
They don’t do boring.
They do moments—rich, cinematic, heart-pounding musical moments.
And on April 6th, San Diego’s going to get a front-row seat.
John Jorgenson Quintet — Live in Concert
Date: April 6, 2024 at 2pm
Venue: Bob Burton Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets: www.FallbrookMusicSociety.org
Get ready to witness a master of sound, rhythm, and storytelling.
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