Jazz in Persip Park with Luke Franco

Guitarist Luke Franco purveys the rich tradition of jazz guitar by gleaning from the masters, both past and present. Formative years spent with John Abercrombie—his main influence and one of the great guitar innovators—led Franco to develop his own style and compositional voice. While pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Miami, he was Teachers Assistant in John Hart’s talented and ambitious guitar studio, and performed as a featured soloist with the award winning Concert Jazz Band led by Grammy winner Jon Daversa alongside guest artists including Gonzalo Rubalacaba and Alan Ferber. He was featured as lead guitarist at the world premiere of Michael Tilson Thomas’s “Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind” along with the New World Symphony in 2016. Presently, Franco has been performing in the Berkshires, Hudson Valley, and NY Capital Region presenting his own music both as a leader and as an in-demand sideman, notably in trio with Tarik Shah and Jimmy Madison. As a counterpoint to his musical career, he and his wife founded Tiny Hearts Farm in Copake, NY in 2011 and manage the 35-acre farm with their two young boys, growing cut flowers and playing music at the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains.