The Brian Nova Trio at Vintage House
The Sonoma Index - Tribune January 3rd, 2020
Written by Tim Curley
Guitar virtuoso brings array of jazz, rock influence to Sonoma show this weekend
Music lovers get a chance to start the new year with a world class bang when jazz guitar virtuoso Brian Nova brings his trio to play the Vintage House this Sunday, Jan. 5. It is being billed as homecoming and CD release party. The event is co-sponsored by the Vintage House and the Sonoma Jazz society.
Nova was mentored by and toured the world with the two monsters of jazz guitar, Herb Ellis and Joe Pass. Pass once said of Nova, “I feel Brian is one of the finest jazz guitarists on the scene.” Steve “The Joker” Miller said this about Nova, “I have met and known a lot of guitarists in my career, and ‘B’ is the best guitarist I have ever met.”
Nova also has recorded with numerous jazz titans and has six albums released under his name. He is bonafide.
Brian Nova is an ex-Sonoma resident, and refers to it as his “old hometown.” He lived here from 2005 until 2011. He is now a resident of the Palm Springs area. He was reached by cell phone as he toured through the Living Desert Zoo and Museum with visiting relatives. Between discussing chuckwallas and chollas with his niece, Nova talked enthusiastically about his upcoming show, and how he developed his much admired style.
The hackneyed phrase “it takes a village” applies to Nova. But this “village” refers to his peers, not the elders of the clan. As the older sibling, he had no big brother or sister to steer him musically. Nova was influenced by a combination of friends from a few different high schools in the Seattle area, where he grew up.
“I was really lucky. I grew up in the south side of Seattle. Half my friends were at Rainer Beach High School and listened to James Brown and Earth, Wind and Fire. My other friends at Renton High listened to a lot of country and Southern Rock. Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers. The guys at Capital High were more into the classics… Stones, Beatles, Led Zep….”
That musical goulash was rich in flavor and texture, and Nova ate it up. Interestingly, despite knowing how to play guitar, Nova stirred it all together and ended up playing bass in a funk band during his high school days.
“I fell in love with the guitar again when a friend took me to see Herb Ellis. I was thinking. ‘I don’t want to hear some old guy play ‘Misty.’ But I was floored. I didn’t know you could do that on the guitar.”
Nova switched gears, practiced long and hard, and has gone on to a perch at the pinnacle of jazz.
His trio for the Vintage House show includes Andy Fraga on drums and Terry Miller on bass guitar. Nova, of course, handles all the guitar duties and provides excellent vocals to boot. Tickets for the concert and the release party for Nova’s new CD called “I Could Have Told You” are available at the Sonoma Jazz Society website.
Nova will bring his musical pedigree, his trio, his great Benedetto guitar and his love for our town for us all to enjoy.
The doors will open at 3 p.m. on Jan. 5, the show starts at 4 p.m. It will be a true musical treat.
