Artist description UK based Smooth Jazz & Groove recording partnership.

Music Style A tantalizing blend of Smooth Jazz, Urban and Widescreen Sounds.

Musical Influences Wes Mongomery/Jim Hall/George Benson/Pat Metheny

Similar Artists If you like Phat jazz guitar with modern grooves you'll love this music!

Artist History Jon Dalton (composer/guitarist).I started studying jazz guitar in my mid 20?s (though I?d long been a fan). Before then I worked as a session player, touring all over Europe and the Middle East. In those days I was playing mostly rock, pop and blues. My first jazz project was the Latin influenced outfit ?DIT DA? who enjoyed cult success in the Southern UK in the late 80?s early 90?s. DIT DA?s original material was extensively recorded and broadcast by BBC National and International Radio. In ?92 I released the album ?Treetops?. Since then I?ve gigged a lot and have been developing my knowledge of Jazz Guitar playing and history, in particular the catalogue of Jazz ?Standards?. I first visited Southern California in early 1999 and, from the start, was captivated by the land and seascapes, the sunny weather and the breezy lifestyle. Most of the works on this CD are a record of this influence. My aim in composing is simple: to produce beautiful music that people will like and to maintain honesty, integrity and beauty in my guitar playing.

Group Members John O?Hara (arranger/producer). I first met John O?Hara on a return trip from LA in the autumn of 1999. I?d been looking for a collaborator on the project and musically John and I hit it off straight away. So well in fact that we were inspired to complete 90% of the tracks on this CD in less than four days start to finish! John is Musical Director at the Bristol Old Vic Theater one of the UK?s most revered training and performance venues. John is a multi-instrumentalist but his speciality is percussion. This is great for the project, as we both like our tracks to groove or swing ?just right?. John has undertaken post-graduate studies in percussion at The Royal Northern College of Music where he also majored and was winner of The Philip Jones Prize. Besides having provided Musical Director services for countless stage productions both resident and touring, John has also composed music for film and TV worldwide

Instruments Main picture shows an early '70s Ibanez (lawsuit) L5CES. For the recording we used an early Washburn J10 (ES175 shape, see picture on images page) fitted with Gibson Classic '57 pick-ups for the smoother tracks and an early 70's Ibanez "Lawsuit" Johnny Smith Archtop for the funkier tracks. The guitars were recorded through a Boss compressor and a Lexicon reverb. The acoustic guitar is a Gretsch G400 Syncromatic Archtop. Various samplers and tone generators were used, Roland and Proteus amongst them. John O'Hara played a number of natural percussion instruments. Recording was performed on 16 track digital.

Albums Treetops (1992 Dit Da Communications)

Press Reviews "Stunning" "Highly Recommended" Venue Magazine"Jon plays with real passion that trancends his obvious technical fluency" The Bath Chronicle. "As jazz on a summer's day (Jon Dalton's) Dit Da would be without peer." Impact Magazine.

Location Costa Mesa, Ca - USA

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