Guitar Lessons/Photos

After nearly two months, I have finally received my canon digital camera. Expect an overhaul of previous posts with photos over the next few weeks.

After a brief hiatus, I have started taking guitar lessons with a local jazz/fusion guitarist named Chuma Segura, who I found through at Radical Music, a music store next to my apartment. As it turns out, Chuma's studio is on the north side of the Cervantes Monument/Plaza de Espana, a good five minute walk from my piso, which sits on the southern edge of the public square. Chuma proved to be a fantastic guitar teacher, which is a major relief for me; research, exercise, and socializing can only sustain a person for so long.

After the lesson, Chuma invited me to see his band, the Chuma Seruma Hot Band, that Friday at Moe, a local jazz club located in the far northern edge of central Madrid. The ambiance of the venue was ideal; low lit lights, exposed stone walls, a mellow crowd, and a few whisps of smoke for added atmosphere. In this setting, Chuma's five piece band - guitar, sax, congas, bass, and drums - played a furious and funky set of blues/flunk inflected jazz rock, which reflects the influences of John McLaughlin, Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Benson, and John Scofield, among others. Truly riveting.

Here are some photos from the show:


For more information on Chuma's music, check out his website: www.chumasegura.com