Greg Chako
In a pro career spanning 40 years and five countries, Cincinnati-born jazz guitarist Greg Chako has released ten albums and been the subject of a documentary called, “An American Cat in the Lion City.” His most prolific period to-date as a recording and performance artist occurred while he lived in the Far East for 17 years, where he evolved into a masterful, expressive composer with rich story telling abilities. His varied arrangements and 50+ recorded original compositions merge Mainstream, Hard Bop, Latin & World instrumental music.

American Jazz guitarist Greg Chako was a major force in the Singapore jazz scene around the turn of the 21st Century. He led the ‘House' Trio at Raffles' Bar & Billiard Room from 1995-2002.. He released four albums during that time: Live at Raffles, Sudden Impact, Integration & Integration II. He performed throughout the region. Notable shows included: Jazz in the Park, Chi-Jazz and Just Jazz Festivals, and the 2002 Heineken Jazz Festival in Kuala Lumpur.

After relocating to Japan in 2003, he visited Singapore frequently, recording three more albums at Lion Studios engineered by the late John Herbert. Those albums featured a wide variety of players from Singapore and were titled: Paint a Picture, Tell a Story, Where We Find Ourselves, and Everybody’s Got a Name. It’s clear that Chako’s professional career got it’s start in Singapore, and his return to the island after 20 years will be long awaited and much anticipated.

Three of the musicians participating on his records will be joining Greg for what could well be his final live performance in Singapore. They are: Christy Smith on bass, Mei Shuem on piano, and Greg Lyons on sax. Playing drums for this feature performance is a young titan of the modern Singapore scene, Ben Low.

The group will be playing songs from Greg's recorded works, including tracks from his newest 11th album, Friends, Old & New.

He can de-mystify complex musical concepts and facilitate students’ mastery of all the skills and knowledge necessary for them to develop their own personal “voice,” the ultimate goal of any artist or craftsman. He strives to teach you how to fish rather than merely feeding you a fish. As more than just one of his private students have said: “Greg has immense knowledge and knows how to simplify complex ideas into an easy-to understand language. His teaching style is down-to-earth.”

He has invested significant time into developing interpersonal relationships that are based on mutual respect, with awareness, sensitivity and tolerance for our differences. He has a “teacher’s heart,” that is, an innate ability to build rapport with students and lead them towards their highest potential. And importantly, he’s cognizant and grateful for the "two-way street" of communication which should exist between any student and teacher, as each collaborate on the learning process together. Nothing is more gratifying to him than to witness his students find their passion and exceed their initial expectations.

His formal education includes outstanding Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) work at The Eastman School of Music, a Masters of Music (M.M.), and a Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) with an interdisciplinary focus on the Music Business and Performance.