Barry Finnerty
Michael Barry Finnerty ( born December 3, 1951 in San Francisco ) is an American fusion musician (guitar, keyboards), who has become known primarily for his work as a studio musician. He has also led his own bands and wrote two textbooks.
Life and work
Finnerty, son of actor Warren Finnerty (1924-1974), grew up in California and partly in Hong Kong. As a five year old child he began piano lessons; the age of 13 he began to play guitar; he soon played in beat bands. From 1969 to 1972 he belonged to Beefy Red He studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of California Berkeley. In 1971, he also attended the Berklee College of Music.
Then he moved to New York City, where he played from 1973 with Chico Hamilton, with whom he also appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival. 1975 brought him Joe Farrell in his band; then he was a member of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Between 1978 and 1981 he was one of the Brecker Brothers; 1979-1984, he was also working for The Crusaders. Also, he and Carl Palmer, Todd Cochran, John Nitzinger and Eric Scott, the group PM. In 1980 he toured with Billy Cobham in Europe. In 1981 he took up with Miles Davis, but it still whilst working on The Man with the Horn by Mike Stern ersetzte.Dann he founded his own bands. In addition, he recorded with Thad Jones / Mel Lewis, Rimona Francis, Ray Barretto, Hubert Laws, Tom Harrell, Steve Grossman, Terumasa Hino and Didier Lockwood.
Disco Graphical Notes
- New York City ( 1982)
- 2B Named Later ( Cheetah Records, 1988)
- Straight Ahead ( Arabesque Records, 1994)
- Space Age Blues ( Hot Wire Records, 1998)
- Trazz! ( Birdland Records, 2003)
- Manhattan Sessions Vol 1 (ESC, 2010)
Writings
- The Serious Jazz Practice Book Sheer, 2006; ISBN 978-1883217426
- The Serious Jazz Book II Sheer, 2008; ISBN 978-1883217556