The Art of Takin' It Out

It’s not common to hear a guitarist compared to adventurous players like Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane and Cecil Taylor, but Dom Minasi is not your common type of guitarist. "I have no idea where that comes from," he says of his unique approach to improvisation. "It just happened. It just felt like the natural progression. I like to get that looseness, that creative stuff happening."Like many highly creative artists, Dom needs a variety of contexts to express the full range of his musical vision, already maintaining five separate groups ­- 3 duos, with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, saxophonist Blaise Siwula, and vocalist Carol Mennie, his recording trio with Ken Filiano on bass and Jackson Krall on drums, DDT + 2 with Tomas Ulrich-cello, Ken Filiano-bass, John Bollinger-drums and vocalist Carol Mennie. His 2001 release, Takin' The Duke Out, recorded Live at the Knitting Factory in New York City, featuring fresh interpretations of classic Ellington compositions, took the jazz community by storm and caused such a controversy that critics and musicians alike are still talking about it. Inspired by Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, Dom Minasi’s newest and most adventurous outing to date (March 2006), The Vampire’s Revenge is a double disc set of original through composed pieces. Using his trio, with bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Jackson Krall as an anchor, this record has an amazing cast of guest artists throughout the CD. Some of the tracks have up to thirteen musicians and are conducted by Byron Olson, a long time associate of Dom’s from his Blue Note days."One of New Yorks' best kept secrets is finally 'getting out.' Hooray!" - Jim Hall "In the manner of Eric Dolphy...Minasi works over the harmonic and rhythmic material of each song in an extraordinary manner, managing to go places where few lesser guitarists would venture." - Cadence - July 2000 "He works his frets like a man possessed... peeling off tangled lines in steady metallic cascades...This date suggests that his place as a major player may have finally arrived." - Derek Taylor - All Music Guide to Jazz Besides being an adventurous performer, Dom has composed hundreds of pieces of music on and off Broadway, jazz instrumentals, children’s songs, classical and vocal compositions. He has published Musician's Manual for Chord Substitution, Principles of Harmonic Substitution, Stress Points and Singer's Guide to Reading Rhythms.Dom's teaching experience is just as vast and varied: Marquis Studios and Young Audiences: Using the blues as a basis, Dom has created a program using poetry put to music in blues, rock 'n roll, rap, jazz, Latin music, and well known children's books to teach literacy through songwriting." Kingsborough Community College and Lehman College: Guitar Ensembles, The Singers Forum, Classes in Jazz Vocalization and Reading Rhythms American Institute of Guitar, The Guitar Workshop: Classes in harmony, theory and improvisation Various Colleges and Universities: Lecturer on history of Jazz guitar Private Teaching: Guitar instruction. Latin-Jazz Concerts and Workshops