Russ Spiegel Trio (USA/NZ)

He loved NZ so much that he's back to delight us again with guitar playing.

Groovy, swinging, and sophisticated at the same time, versatile guitarist and composer Russ Spiegel hits all the right notes. Covering a wide variety of styles from rock and blues to funk and Latin and hard-swinging modern and post-modern jazz, Russ has been garnering rave reviews for his performances all around the world.

Russ Spiegel is a commissioned composer and arranger as well as a highly respected international guitarist, bandleader, writer, musicologist, and award-winning sound engineer. He received his undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and continued his studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Afterward, Russ spent more than a decade living and performing in Europe before returning to the US to settle in New York City. Once there, Russ quickly became an established member of the jazz scene. He earned his master’s degree in jazz performance at the City College of New York under the aegis of John Patitucci before going on to receive his doctorate in Jazz Composition at the University of Miami Frost School of Music as a Henry Mancini Institute Fellow. He has released several CDs, scored music for film, and performed and led masterclasses, workshops, and seminars around the world. Russ currently teaches at Florida International University and Miami Dade College.


Spiegel plays with a clear, bright sound and his solos reveal a sure-footed rhythmic instinct and a harmonic sense which may be rooted in bebop, but which also leans towards the future. — Charles Alexander, Jazzwise (London)

Intellectual to the core, melodic and elegant, [Spiegel's] music will engage and challenge you at the same time. — Ed Blanco, EJazzNews

A killer guitarist that’s simply welcomed all over the world, Spiegel lays it down without pretense or drama and lets his clean lines and solid playing provide all the drama and dynamic tension non-smooth jazz should have, even when he’s playing it light and easy. A tasty cat you should definitely get to know. — Chris Spector, Midwest Record