2005-8

Winter 2009-2010 Highlights of the past year include many jazz festivals and East Coast clubs with his trio, reuniting with Jim Rotondi and Eric Alexander from Charles Earland Band plus Mike LeDonne and Joe Farnsworth for a weekend at Caton Castle in Baltimore, a series of gigs with Akiko Tsuruga and Rudy Petschauer in the tri state area and leading his birthday gig to a packed house at The Kitano Jazz Room in NYC with bass great Peter Washington and Steve Johns on drums. Bob has been playing duo gigs with fellow guitar great Dave Stryker and enjoys periodically being part of bassist John Lee's group and playing as part of Mike LeDonne's Organ Grooves at SMOKE, now and then. Bob has been writing, arranging and performing new material he plans to record with his trio this spring after a series of performances in March, including a return to Jazz at the Cape and a concert at the Baird Center. He continues teaching guitar studies at Lehigh, an occasional performance with Bill Warfield's NY Jazz Repertory Big Band, and working with his private students.

Winter 2008-09: Highlights of the past year include another extended tour in Belgium with Hammond B3 organist Dirk Van Der Linden, a live recording at Cecil's for Hendrik Meurkens with Mike LeDonne and Joe Strasser--watch for its' release--, many jazz festivals and East Coast clubs with his trio, dates at Chris's in Philadelphia and the New Haven Lounge in Baltimore with Eric Alexander, Jim Snidero, Greg Hatza, the much-missed Tony Reedus and Bob's regular trio drummer, the wonderful Steve Johns. He has been playing duo gigs with fellow guitar great Dave Stryker and enjoys periodically being part of bassist John Lee's group and getting the chance to play with fellow Charles Earland alumni Eric Alexander and Jim Rotondi, same for playing as part of Mike LeDonne's Organ Grooves at SMOKE, now and then. Bob has been writing, arranging and performing new material he plans to record with his trio this spring. He continues teaching guitar studies at Lehigh, an occasional performance with Bill Warfield's NY Jazz Repertory Big Band, and working with his private students. Bob likes hearing from listeners an musicians worldwide and he answers all emails about his music, equipment and teaching. See link to contact page above to send Bob an email or to call him.

Summer 2008: Highlights of the past year include a great tour in Belgium (he returns for another, more extended tour in November), a week on the Jazz Cruise as part of the Eric Alexander Organ Quartet, and many enthusiastically received performances up and down the East Coast with his own Bob DeVos Organ Trio. There was the release and highly gratifying reviews and airplay for Bob’s third Savant CD, Playing for Keeps. Bob is currently writing and performing new compositions and arrangements for an early 2009 new Savant Records release. He much enjoys playing his second Rob Engel guitar, and just completed building himself a higher powered version of a Fender Vibroverb amplifier. He is enjoying working with his students, and is writing a guitar method book. He looks forward to some recording dates with Hendrik Meurkens, Onaje Allan Gumbs, and Bill Warfield. Bob will soon be adding some more info re the new guitar and amp under Equipment below.

Fall 2007: It has been a highly gratifying few months with many enthusiastically received festival and club performances nationwide with my Bob DeVos Organ Trio and a California tour with guest tenor great Eric Alexander. Playing For Keeps has just been released on Savant; I will have much more to say about the CD in a few weeks when I return from a Belgium tour and The Jazz Cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale in November. The CD release events have been great. There are some new directions on this CD; response has been terrific. I will also be writing more about my new Rob Engel custom guitar that I am using on my November 2007 tours.

Spring 2007:

With the Bob DeVos Organ Trio, I have just enjoyed two terrific concerts in MD and PA, the latter joined by tenor great Eric Alexander. I have been writing and arranging new material for my group, and will be recording another CD on Savant in early summer. I look forward to playing in mid - April with my trio closer to home as well as to returning to the Kitano with bassist Mike McGuirk and drummer Billy Drummond. I will be on a Live at Cecil's recording with Hendrik Meurkens and Mike LeDonne and then onto Cape May Jazz Fest as part of the Wes Montgomery Tribute. I hope to see old friends and new listeners at these and other future gigs. Please see my calendar page for details as well as performances at the JVC Jazz Festival in Miami Beach, San Diego and LA. And plan now for a great weekend at the Lake George Jazz Festival in mid September.

Shifting Sands continues to enjoy much airplay, with 28 weeks in the top twenty on Jazz Week's TOP 50 Nationwide Jazz Airplay Chart as well as terrific, insightful reviews.

Those of you especially interested in gear, may like to check out John Heidt's lengthy feature on me in the April, 2007 Vintage Guitar. I will soon post a very comprehensive interview with Rick Holland on my site. Rick's questions go to the core of my musical thinking and experiences.

Late 2006-News:

Watch for notes about the October 24, 2006 release of Shifting Sands on Savant Records and the CD Release Performance at Live at J&R presented and broadcast by WBGO Jazz Radio 88.3FM with host Eulis Cathey.

2005-mid 2006-News:

The past months have brought many gratifying experiences. First, in late October 2005 there was the great popular and critical success of An Organ Summit Supreme, an all day concert that brought 1,200 fans from around the world to Newark, NJ. I served as musical director and guitarist, reuniting with Hammond B-3 Organ legends Trudy Pitts and Dr. Lonnie Smith as well as tenor great David "Fathead" Newman and drummer Rudy Petschauer. Scroll down to the Fall 2005 news for a link to a special Organ Summit Supreme page. Carla Lilien's insightful review appeared in the Dec. 2005 Jazz Improv and a link to the entire review is on the Reviews page.

Nov. 2005, drummer Steve Johns joined Dan Kostelnik and me as part of my group, The Bob DeVos Organ Trio. After playing a terrific weekend at Cecil's Jazz Club, (We also had a sell-out return weekend on May 5 and 6, 2006), I decided to compose and record with these accomplished musicians in mind. We came together at the end of 2005 at with Jack Kreisberg as co-producer. Tenor great Eric Alexander and percussionist Gary Fritz joined us for three tunes. The CD, Shifting Sands, was released by Savant/HighNote in October, 2006. The brilliant Tom Swift of Swift Kick Productions mixed and mastered the CD, getting just the sound I wanted. More news about the release will be posted as it develops. Please read about this trio and our goals on my Groups Page. My trio also played at SMOKE before Christmas and for the 4th of July.

December and at various dates through the year, brought a few great Tuesday nights playing with Mike LeDonne, Eric Alexander and Joe Farnsworth at Mike's regular Tuesday Hammond Grooves night at SMOKE. My group had a big night at Trumpets in June and will be playing a big event at the NJ STATE THEATER on Wed. Sept. 20, 2006. Please come hear us there and elsewhere, again see the calendar page and watch for the CD RELEASE EVENTS to be announced soon.

2006 had started with my heading down to Miami Beach and the Van Dyke Cafe for a series of January performances in many musical settings, all including bassist Don Wilner. New Years at the Van Dyke with Don, Rudy, and Doris Spears is becoming a tradition I urge many of you to plan on sharing in the future, including four nights at the end of July 2006.

Other news: a number of recording dates, especially with Onaje Allen Gumbs, due out this year and a great Miami-based vocalist, LeNard Rutledge, with whom I have performed at the Van Dyke Cafe and will again this year.

Fall, 2005-News:

It was a great summer playing at many festivals: Iowa with Eric Alexander and Mike LeDonne, Rochester with the Swedish trumpet player Anders Bergrantz and the Ron McClure Qt, Lake George, as well as with my own Hammond organ trio in smaller festivals and a few weeks at the great Van Dyke Cafe in Miami Beach. Trudy Pitts and I with Billy Drummond on drums opened the 40th Anniversary Jazz in the Garden Series at the Newark Museum and had over 800 people there enjoying the music.

The big news is AN ORGAN SUMMIT SUPREME, a star studded tribute to Hammond great Jimmy McGriff. I am musical director and really look forward to playing with the line-up I put together: Jimmy, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Trudy Pitts, Gene Ludwig, David "Fathead" Newman, Houston Person and more. I have played and recorded with all of them. I will be on WBGO Jazz88.3FM with event host Gary Walker on Tuesday Oct. 18th at 9am and hope you will tune in.

(Top of Page)