Porvoo, Uusimaa, Finland
A highly talented composer, guitarist, author, and educator specializing in Latin and contemporary jazz, Neff Irizarry follows in the footsteps of Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, and Steve Khan. His unique blend of progressive Latin jazz is a display of Puerto Rican “Sabor” and a Nordic cool called “Sisu.”
Featured in The European Real Book (Sher Music Co., 2007), Neff has joined the ranks of the most esteemed European composers of jazz. And, with his new work, “Contemporary Latin Jazz Guitar” (Sher Music Co., 2021), Neff has provided the most comprehensive book on Latin Jazz Guitar ever written.
His critically acclaimed debut CD “Nepenthe” in 2000, which was produced by Grammy Award-winning bassist Jimmy Haslip, features the guitar in a Latin jazz context without the piano.
Neff’s creativity, dedication, and solid groove as a guitarist have also enabled him to perform with Eddie Henderson, Jimmy Haslip, Lonnie Liston Smith, Victor Mendoza, Brian Melvin, and Anders Bergcrantz, among others at numerous international clubs and festivals.
A B.M. and M.M. graduate from the Berklee College of Music, Neff believes in the power of education and self-development. As a result, Neff has been an in-demand educator with over twenty years of experience in Northern Europe as a teacher and clinician.
“Neff Irizarry has embarked down a path traveled by few
guitarists in contemporary jazz and certainly contemporary
Latin jazz! To execute all the montunos, guajeos, necessary
harmonizations, and to solo with clarity and fire is a tall
order but Neff is certainly up to the task.”
—Steve Khan, guitarist
The Voice of Latin Jazz Guitar
Friday, January 6, 2023
5:00 PM – 5:50 PM US EST