Ron Escheté


Ronald Patrick Escheté is an American seven-string jazz guitarist. He is the first person to record a cover version of "Christmas Time Is Here", which Vince Guaraldi wrote for the Charlie Brown television program.

Career

When Escheté was fourteen, he began playing guitar. During the late 1960s, he studied classical guitar and flute at Loyola University in New Orleans. From 1969–1970, he worked in Las Vegas supporting singer Buddy Greco. He moved to Los Angeles, where he played with Dave Pike and Gene Harris.
Escheté has been an educator since the early 1970s when he taught at community colleges in southern California. In the mid 1970s, he began teaching at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood and in the 1990s at California State University at Long Beach. He has written several instruction books, such as The Jazz Guitar Soloist and Melodic Chord Phrases.
His early influences were jazz guitarists Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall, and Howard Roberts. He has played with Ray Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, and Diana Krall.

Discography

As leader

With Gene Harris
With Dave Pike
With others