Doors at 7:30pm ~ Show at 8pm

Matt Hartle will be playing alongside Alex Jordan, Jen Rund, and Anna Elva for this edition of "Not Entirely Dead" Fridays!

Guitarist Matt Hartle was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania, but his playing and his music resonate with a musical and cultural aesthetic that is pure San Francisco Bay Area. His playing exemplifies the uniquely American music form that had it's birth in the Bay Area during the late 1960's and early '70's - a fusion of blues, rock, folk, and jazz performed with an exploratory, and at times mystical, spirit and a penchant for genre bending and blending. After studying jazz and earning a BA in Jazz Performance from the University of North Texas, Matt continued his migration West where he ultimately found his way to the coastal enclave of Santa Cruz, CA where he has made his home since 1995.

Hartle is equally at home with, and notably proficient in, bluegrass, folk, straight-ahead jazz, fusion, and all manner of rock, country, and blues stylings. His signature playing style is marked by an instantly recognizable fluidity and sonic intensity which ebbs and flows in organic currents. Ecstatically melodic themes can erupt into blistering torrents of blues-rock fury or devolve into mysterious, dissonant, yearning explorations, or placid contemplations of a multitude of colors, forms, textures and moods. It's no surprise that his fretwork has garnered favorable comparisons to such psychedelic guitar luminaries as Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana, and Steve Kimock, as well as a host of more traditional fretboard icons, including Lowell George and Mark Knopfler.

--

Once per month, Ashkenaz presents "Not Entirely Dead Night", a series exploring the mutual inspiration of the Grateful Dead among notable Psychedelic Rock and Americana artists. Check out our calendar for a fabulous lineup of some of the best Bay Area jam musicians as they pay tribute to the music and influence of the Grateful Dead.