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Ron Affif

Born on December 30, 1965, Affif learned all about passion from his mother Marlene, and discipline and endurance from his father Charlie Affif, a fiercely competitive middleweight boxer who numbered Miles Davis among his fans and close friends. "He had all these records around the house that my brother, Mark, started listening to," Ron recently told his hometown paper, the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette. "Mark had a guitar in the house. I guess I was around 12, and I picked up the guitar. I just had an urge to play an instrument."

His uncle, Ron Anthony, was a superb guitarist who worked with the likes of George Shearing and Frank Sinatra. "When I was 12, Uncle Ron gave me my first guitar lesson." Affif played music with friends through high school. When he turned 18, rather than take the music scholarship offered by Duquesne University, he moved to Los Angeles to be near his uncle, who had offered to let Affif sub for him on dates he couldn't make. "From an early age, I did all kinds of gigs. I've worked with everybody from Al Martino to Roger Williams, and I learned a ton of old songs from Gershwin on up. That whole working musician vibe really helped me grow as a professional. So, if a singer comes up and wants to do a tune, it doesn't matter what key--because I'm cool."

Eventually Affif moved to his current home, New York City, drawn because it's "where all the other guys are, and that's what brings out the most of what you have. I mean there are guys who play great everywhere. But in New York there's just more of them. When I first came to New York [guitarist] Gene Bertoncini gave me some solid advice. He said to let the singers know I did that kind of work, because a lot of the joints they work don't have pianos, and when the jazz gigs dry up for a minute, they'll have work for you."

That singing quality is what distinguishes Affif from most of the other high-octane guitar-slingers, and informs his phrasing with a sense of rhythm and pace all too rare on the instrument, as he allows each note to blossom and recede with a breathlike purity and relaxation that belie his fiery chops. And unlike many hot players, Affif respects the power of melody too much to simply concoct a series of dancing bear tricks as a prelude to the blowing choruses.

Ron Affif: Solotude

by Douglas Payne
November 1, 1999

Solo jazz attempts to make too much of either a good thing or not enough of something else. In solo guitar jazz, Joe Pass set the standard in 1973 with his series of Virtuoso recordings. But, for allthe Pass acolytes currently plying their trade, guitarist Ron Affif stands out. And not just because he records for Pass's former producer (Eric Miller) or for the guitarist's celebrated label (Pablo). Affif's fifth disc under his own name, Solotude, strikes enough of a ...

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Album Review

Ron Affif: Ringside

by Douglas Payne
July 1, 1997

Ron Affif, like George Benson, Jimmy Ponder and Joe Negri, is a guitarist from Pittsburgh. Like Benson and Ponder, Affif owes something of his sound and swing to Wes Montgomery. But he's also clearly influenced by the technical virtuosity and warmth produced by Joe Pass. Ringside, Affif's fourth record on Pablo, is dedicated to his father, middleweight champion Charlie Affif, and the eight tunes here suggest a sort of boxing theme. The guitarist, though, assisted in his trio by Essiet ...

279

Album Review

Ron Affif: Vierd Blues

Read "Vierd Blues" reviewed by Bob Patterson

by Bob Patterson
March 1, 1997

This CD sneaks up on you. At first, you expect a traditional bebop guitar performance. There are many out there right now in the Alden/Bruno vein, and to be compared to such masters is no small feat. But this recording has something unique to itself: serious attitude. Affif combines chops and a sense of beauty with a “no B.S." state of mind, producing an engaging musical experience. It is made all the more satisfying due to the musicianship of Affif's ...

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Performance / Tour

Mychelle Colleary, Ron Affif, Elias Bailey ~ Sunday 11/11 at Cafe 50 West

Source: All About Jazz
November 9, 2007

2007 MAC Nominee for Outstanding Jazz Vocalist MYCHELLE COLLEARY

This SUNDAY, November 11th, 5-8pm at Flatiron's hippest new Boite CAFE 50 WEST 50 West 22nd Street, New York 212-352-2233

NO COVER... no minimum... no maximum...

It's PICK-UP jazz. This week with ELIAS BAILEY on bass and RON AFFIF on guitar. Like pick-up basketball, we show up and just play! Great good fun of improvised, quirky arrangements while-you-wait, loveliness... Genre-bending contemporary ...
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Performance / Tour

Mychelle Colleary, Ron Affif, Elias Bailey, Grady Tate Tonight at Mannahatta

Source: All About Jazz
December 5, 2006

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006 8-9pm.

MYCHELLE COLLEARY opening for GRADY TATE!!

MANNAHATTA LOUNGE 316 Bowery @ Bleecker, New York City 212.253.8644

NO COVER, 1 drink minimum per set

Come and enjoy some of Mychelle's quirky arrangements, genre-bending contemporary jazz as straight as she can make it ... very, and not so very. This is a great space, with Tuesday music produced by Meredith Blis. Mychelle has the great good fortune to play with the ...
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Education

Ron Affif Jazz Clinic and Concert Series @ Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus Tuesday, November 28, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
November 27, 2006

Jazz Clinic and Concert Series @ Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus (Free and open to the public)

Tuesday, November 28, 4:00 - 6:00 PM Jazz guitarist and composer Ron Affif will lead a jazz seminar as part of Long Island University's Jazz Clinic Series. The series features musicians and music professionals with extraordinary links to jazz history in addition to being outstanding in their own right.

The clinics are free and open to the general public. They take place on ...
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Performance / Tour

Andrea Wolper, Ron Affif, Ken Filiano @ 55 Bar June 21

Source: All About Jazz
June 19, 2006

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Performance / Tour

Andrea Wolper, Ron Affif, Ken Filiano @ 55 Bar on June 21

Source: All About Jazz
June 17, 2006

Wed., June 21 7 - 9 pm Andrea Wolper +Ron Affif +Ken Filiano 55 Bar 55 Christopher St. near 7th Ave. So. & W. 4th 1 train to Christopher St. or trains to W. 4th station No cover charge www.55bar.com (click on We Are Here to see exact location) Hear Andrea, Ron, & Ken: Free MP3 Download #2 ...
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122

Performance / Tour

Michelle Walker and Ron Affif perform @ SMOKE

Source: All About Jazz
January 9, 2006

Michelle Walker performs @ SMOKE SUNDAY JANUARY 15, 2006

New York City, NY - December 26, 2005 - Vocalist Michelle Walker will be appearing at SMOKE Jazz Club, performing original and jazz standards with contemporary and latin influences. Michelle recently moved to the New York area from Washington, DC.

Dave Nathan of All About Jazz says of her debut CD Slow Down, “Walker possesses....an extraordinary degree of musicality as she adds subtle alterations to melody lines, going up when one ...
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Performance / Tour