Jack Grassel


Jack Grassel is an American jazz guitarist, teacher, and author from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Career

With a family to support, Grassel turned to teaching music and playing jazz locally. He worked with Rosemary Clooney, Slide Hampton, Stanley Jordan, and Ed Thigpen, and Nancy Wilson. He created the Occupational Music degree program at Milwaukee Area Technical College and wrote the books Big Ax and Super Ax. He formed Frozen Sky Records. As a result of the first two records of his compositions "Magic Cereal" and "If You're Too Crazy", he was featured in the New Talent section of Guitar Player magazine and became a contributing writer.
He later invented an instrument he named the "SuperAx" which contained both guitar and bass guitar strings. His friend, guitarist Kirk Tatnall, built one, too, and they recorded the album Live at the Uptowner with their hybrid instruments.
, Jack Grassel, and Sid Jacobs at the Musician's Institute in Hollywood, California, 2009
The Hofner guitar company hired Grassel to record a promotional album, Guitar Smoke.
In 2000, readers of Guitar One magazine voted Grassel "one of the 10 best guitarists in America." He married vocalist Jill Jensen, and they recorded two albums: It's About the Music.

Discography