Valley Sol Series featuring JOEL DEL ROSARIO

Joel Del Rosario

San Francisco based guitarist and songwriter, Joel Del Rosario has opened up and performed with many of today’s top Contemporary Jazz artists. From performing alongside Brian Culbertson and Michael Lington at Brian’s annual Napa Valley Jazz Festival, to opening up for mega stars Warren Hill and Eric Darius in Phoenix, Arizona and doing the same for Eric Marienthal and Gail Johnson with the ladies of “Jazz in Pink” at Carson’s Jazz Festival. “jDR”, as he is commonly referred to, has been able to stand alongside the industry’s best. Bringing an undeniable onstage presence, jDR’s electrifying performance commands the attention of music lovers everywhere as he can create an intimate musical experience even in the midst of sold out venues and outdoor festivals.

However, not only is “jDR” recognized as a distinguished jazz guitarist who has been voted “Best Jazz Guitarist” by Coffee Talk Jazz Radio and won multiple awards, including a prestigious “Stan Getz” scholarship to Stanford University’s Jazz Camp while in high school. Joel is also an established songwriter, having produced music for Billboard charting artist(s): Ragan Whiteside, Cal Harris Jr., Dee Lucas, and fellow Bay Area keyboardist, Marco Montoya.

His single “Delicious Vinyl” off his latest release “Past Present Future” charted #27 on Billboard’s Smooth Jazz airplay chart for 3 weeks, and was successfully in the running for “Best Instrumental Music” at the 2016 Grammy Awards.

His passion for music however was born out of tragedy. At the age of eleven, Joel’s mother succumbed to a long bitter fight with breast cancer, and the only solace Joel found was through music and his guitar. It was at this point in the young man’s journey that he began to spend many quiet moments practicing and bonding with his instrument. In these quiet moments he had developed his unique and distinct playing sound which would later garner the affection of jazz fans internationally.