Greg Chako

with the "Samba Summer" Sextet

"Emotionally rewarding and clearly developed. Greg's tunes are melodic and richly complex, with intelligent and sensitive performances...He's world-class!" ~ Joseph Taylor, Soundstage.

Cincinnati-born jazz guitarist Greg Chako took his first music lessons at the age of 9 on the accordion. With Hendrix as an admired hero, guitar then became his primary focus; and after just 1 year of guitar lessons, Greg won 2nd place among more than 1,000 contestants in the American Guild of Music competition. Greg holds a degree in Music Performance from Berklee College of Music in Boston, a Masters of Music degree from William Paterson University in New Jersey, and works toward a Doctor of Musical Arts from The Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.

Anxious to experience life outside of school, he played with top artists like Junior Cook, Bill Hardman, Othello Molineaux, Johnny Lytle, Bobby Watson, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Raney, and others. He also gained “hands-on” experience as a promoter and organizer, running an ongoing jazz program in Cincinnati and founding a non-profit Jazz Society in Amherst, Ma. He formalized these promotional activities under the name Chako Productions, thereby starting a career of arts administration and music business that coincided alongside his performing.

In a pro-career spanning 35 years and five countries, Greg has released 12 CDs, 4 videos, and been the subject of a documentary called, “An American Cat in the Lion City.” Performing worldwide; on TV; and in jazz festivals, his 60+ original compositions take listeners on a unique cross-cultural jazz journey of syncopated rhythms, soulful melodies, hard-swinging jazz, and exotic percussion.

"Greg paints a jazz mosaic with the very best of cultural, ethnic, and musical sensibilities. That striking combination provides a sumptuousness and extensiveness in the music that is rarely found in any genre." ~ Jazz Reviews