“Shane Perlowin is a true artist; a musician who has his own voice, technically and compositionally.” ~ Drummer Justin Watt
Guitarist Shane Perlowin, born 1978, is a late bloomer as far as jazz musicians go, spending his first ten years as a guitarist having taken no lessons and learning very few songs.
Shane invested his early years crafting his sound and creating original music, his listening habits eclectic and growing ever wider, influencing his approach to writing and playing. Ultimately, his rootlessness served as the basis for his idiosyncratic style, which he would later begin to refine and reinforce with theory, technique, and tradition.
Being a spontaneous player, due to his early years spent searching in the absence of strict discipline, has led him to both a confidence in his own inventions and a lack of fear of mistakes. “I believe in letting music happen spontaneously, freshly interpreting a tune each performance. I also believe that the function of music is to convey deep emotion, ferocity, humor, nostalgia, mystery, and joy. Thus, there’s hopefully a romantic, evocative, and lyrical quality to even the most difficult works.
My love for jazz was sparked as a teenager when curiosity led me to acquire John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”. Next I picked up “Full House” by Wes Montgomery and “Mingus Ah Um” by Charles Mingus. From there I was hooked on jazz, while still embracing rock, punk, world music, electronic music, folk, classical, and hip hop. Much of my connection to jazz as a performer was developed from listening to Billie Holiday, Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Chet Baker. It was via this familiarity with vocal interpretations of tunes that I began to internalize their forms.”
At age 24, he committed his attention to learning to read and notate music and began a two-year period of study with the late jazz guitarist Tim Haden at UNCA. There he received a BA in philosophy and nearly completed a minor in music. It was during this time that he formed the avant-rock group Ahleuchatistas, for which he would gain an international audience — touring, performing at festivals, receiving praise from the likes of The NY Times, NPR, and Downbeat, and releasing albums on such esteemed imprints as Cuneiform Records, Harvest Recordings, and John Zorn’s Tzadik Records.
In 2006, Shane played his first concert in Europe at the Saalfelden Jazz Festival in Austria, alongside such artists as Steve Coleman, Marc Ribot and Abdullah Ibrahim. Subsequently, he has toured Europe once or twice a year with Ahleuchatistas, as a solo guitarist, with Swiss vocalist Antoine Läng, and as a member of the Swiss quintet sbdQtç.
“I really enjoy Shane’s versatility and I’m particularly touched by the sensitivity he puts into his music, his instinct as an improviser, the way he performs with a lot of listening, response and generosity, as well as his incredible expressivity that makes him sound deeply human.” ~ Singer/composer Antoine Lang
As his more adventurous music found an appreciation around the world, Perlowin made a home in Asheville where he earns a living teaching guitar and performing. “I often play solo guitar where I can apply the techniques of classical and fingerstyle blues guitar to the great American Songbook. Frequently, I’ll play duo with a drummer and the jazz repertoire takes on a Chet Atkin’s Americana flavor with bass lines played with my right-hand thumb supporting arpeggiated changes and melodies floating on top.” This confluence of approaches has made Shane an accomplished accompanist to singers and horn players.
The way Shane gained professional competency was by booking gigs that put him on the spot. “I believe the best way to become a performer is to perform, and to grow in front of an actual audience.” His main influences today? “My approach to improvising on guitar is partially influenced by pianists Nina Simone, Thelonious Monk, and Bill Evans. Some guitarists I admire are Charlie Christian, Jim Hall, Agustin Barrios Mangore and Bill Frisell.”
“Shane Perlowin is the real deal!” ~ Saxophonist John Zorn