Jim Newsome

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Jim began his musical career as a trumpet player in the 11th grade for the San Pedro High School band in California. Shortly after that he developed an interest in playing guitar and then bass. As a teenager growing up in a town full of musicians a good jam session was never hard to find. Some of Jim’s first musical endeavors included playing with local R&B and Rock groups in the San Pedro area. Eventually he began meeting musicians from the Los Angeles area who introduced him to the Jazz scene.

After playing bass for the next couple of years with a group called the LaMarco Jazz Five he joined the Inner City Blues band as their guitar player for the next three years. When the group broke up Jim began cultivating his song writing and recording skills. Now living in Long Beach, Ca. Jim’s music was picked up by a local cable TV company.

At this point in time Jim had really started to concentrate on learning more about playing the guitar and soon found an excellent teacher by the name of Horace Hachette. They broke the mold after Horace said Jim. “I studied with him every Saturday for three years”. “I don’t think I ever missed a Saturday”. Horace had also taught another Jazz guitar great, the late Howard Roberts.

As Jim matured musically, his interest was piqued by the complex sounds that could be created on the keyboard. Using the keyboard in combination with his guitar skills have shaped and defined the full, varied, and distinct sound he has today.