Jon Finn
Encyclopedia
Jonathan M. Finn is an American rock musician and guitarist
. He is the founder and leader of the Jon Finn Group
, and is a professor at the Berklee College of Music
; he joined the guitar faculty there in 1988. He is also the author of several books on the guitar, and was an instructional columnist for Guitar magazine for three years.
Finn grew up in Westwood, Massachusetts
and began playing guitar at the age of six. He later became a student at Berklee. When he was 14 years old he played with the group Cheap Thrills, which consisted of Finn, Steve Carro (Vocals), Bob Shain (Keyboard), Ron Dupres (Bass), Joel Sklar (Rhythm Guitar), and Greg Buckingham (Drums).
He has been a guest performer with the Boston Pops, recording several albums with them, including the Grammy-nominated The Celtic Album (1997) and The Latin Album (1999). He has also performed with John Petrucci
of Dream Theater
, Carl Verheyen
, Vinnie Moore
, Andy Timmons
, Steve Morse
of the Dixie Dregs
, New York Voices
, Collin Raye
, Dweezil Zappa
, and Debbie Reynolds
, among others. In addition he has toured with musical theater productions such as: Rent
, Mamma Mia!
, Aida
, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
, Copacabana
and others. In his 1999 publication, Advanced Modern Rock Guitar Improvisation, Jon introduced the Warp Refraction Principal.
In 1997, Finn was listed as #30 in the Westwood One Hundred publication's List of Top 100 notable people and places in Westwood.
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. He is the founder and leader of the Jon Finn Group
Jon Finn Group
The Jon Finn Group is a rock band formed and led by the Boston guitarist Jon Finn. The band plays instrumental progressive rock, sounding like a mix between Dream Theater and Dixie Dregs with a blues approach....
, and is a professor at the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
; he joined the guitar faculty there in 1988. He is also the author of several books on the guitar, and was an instructional columnist for Guitar magazine for three years.
Finn grew up in Westwood, Massachusetts
Westwood, Massachusetts
Westwood is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,618 at the 2010 census. In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Westwood 13th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. Boston Magazine listed Gay Street in Westwood on its...
and began playing guitar at the age of six. He later became a student at Berklee. When he was 14 years old he played with the group Cheap Thrills, which consisted of Finn, Steve Carro (Vocals), Bob Shain (Keyboard), Ron Dupres (Bass), Joel Sklar (Rhythm Guitar), and Greg Buckingham (Drums).
He has been a guest performer with the Boston Pops, recording several albums with them, including the Grammy-nominated The Celtic Album (1997) and The Latin Album (1999). He has also performed with John Petrucci
John Petrucci
John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Along with his former bandmate Mike Portnoy, he has produced all Dream Theater albums since their 1999 release, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory...
of Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
, Carl Verheyen
Carl Verheyen
-History:Verheyen has authored many instructional books, including Improvising Without Scales, as well as Studio City, a collection of articles written for the magazine Guitar for the Practicing Musician from 1996-1999...
, Vinnie Moore
Vinnie Moore
Vinnie Moore is a guitarist and a member of the English hard rock band UFO. Along with Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, and others, Moore is known as one of the most influential guitarists to emerge out of the shredder boom in the mid 1980s.-Biography:Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware...
, Andy Timmons
Andy Timmons
Andy Timmons is an American guitarist who has played in the bands Danger Danger, Pawn Kings, and Andy Timmons Band . He has also released several solo albums and has worked as a session guitarist...
, Steve Morse
Steve Morse
Steven J. "Steve" Morse is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his work in the hard rock band Deep Purple since 1994. He began his career to form the unique styled instrumental rock band Dixie Dregs in the 1970. Morse's musical inspiration comes from country, funk, jazz fusion, and...
of the Dixie Dregs
Dixie Dregs
The Dixie Dregs are an American band formed in the 1970s. Their mostly instrumental music fuses jazz, southern rock, bluegrass and classical forms in an often unique style.-Formation and early years:...
, New York Voices
New York Voices
New York Voices is an American vocal music group. The group was formed in 1987 from an Ithaca College alumni group. The original group consisted of Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian, Caprice Fox and Sara Krieger. They released their first, self-titled album on GRP Records in 1989...
, Collin Raye
Collin Raye
Floyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray (born August 22, 1959 or 1960,Although multiple online sources all indicate Raye's date of birth as 1959, Raye's MySpace lists his date of birth as 1960. Furthermore, the 2004 Deseret News article cited in this article indicates the singer as...
, Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
, and Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
, among others. In addition he has toured with musical theater productions such as: Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
, Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
, Aida
Aida (musical)
Aida is a musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, and produced by Walt Disney Theatrical....
, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
, Copacabana
Copacabana (musical)
Copacabana is a TV-musical, stage musical, and nightclub show written by Barry Manilow, based on the song of the same name. The show toured the United States and, as of 2006, became available to license to performing companies and schools for the first time....
and others. In his 1999 publication, Advanced Modern Rock Guitar Improvisation, Jon introduced the Warp Refraction Principal.
In 1997, Finn was listed as #30 in the Westwood One Hundred publication's List of Top 100 notable people and places in Westwood.
Discography
- Don't Look So Serious (Legato Records, 1994)
- Wicked (SEP Records, 1998)
- Bull in a China Shop (SEP Music, 2010)
Books
- Advanced Modern Rock Guitar Improvisation (1999, Mel Bay Publications, Inc., ISBN 0-7866-6866-0)
- One Guitar Many Styles (2003, Mel Bay Publications, Inc., ISBN 0-7866-6748-6)
- Blues/Rock Improv Book (2004, Mel Bay Publications, Inc., ISBN 0-7866-7208-0)
- Guitar Riffs in the Style of 60s and 70s (2007, Mel Bay Publications, Inc., ISBN 0-7866-7470-1)