About

Tim began his musical journey at a very early age playing piano, accordion, tap dancing (he tap-danced with Donald O’Connor at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco at the of 11), and guitar. Tim attended the prestigious Berklee School of Music where he continued his musical studies, met and was influenced by such greats as Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow, and Gary Burton. He studied music at De Anza Community College and performed in the jazz band under the direction of Dr. Herb Patnoe. His many teachers include John Abercrombie, John Scofield, David Liebman, John Stowell, and pianist, Amonti Jon Parsons. “The best training is the tradition of apprenticeship, having the music handed down from one’s teacher. And the best way of learning has been the experience of being able to play with talented musicians.” says Tim.

He received the Outstanding Achievement Award for teaching Jazz Studies classes at Sierra Nevada College in Lake Tahoe. He taught summer guitar classes at Stanford University (1999-2007), at the Jazzschool in Berkeley, CA, and privately at Penninsula Music, Palo Alto, CA. Tim enjoys teaching people of all skill levels, beginners through advanced.

His many notable gigs include a five-year stint with the John Carlton Orchestra at Harrah’s Headliner Room, in Reno, Nevada, where Sammy Davis Jr. pulled him aside to say “Man, you play great guitar!”

Tim has performed/recorded with such renowned artists as saxophonist/composer Hafez Modirzadeh, vocalist Ann Dyer Cervantes, trumpeter Chet Baker, bassist Chuck Israels (Bill Evans), B3 organist Duke Jethro (BB King), percussionist Kenneth Nash, Bobby Black (Asleep At The Wheel, Tom Waits), Michael Hedges and Russell Ferrante, (Yellow Jackets) who also appears on Tim’s 2002 release “Many Places”.

Tim Volpicella was a co-founder of Open Path Music Recording Studios in Willow Glen, CA (2002-2013). Open Path has recorded and produced many acoustic and electric projects including scoring the movie “Fat Rose And Squeaky” starring Cicely Tyson and Louise Fletcher, writing music for an American poet, Paul Zarzyski (Collisions Of Reckless Love, Rock ‘n’ Rowel) scoring electronic samples for guitarist, John Stowell, and Open Paths CD “The Sky Is At Our Feet” to performing with Jerry Miller and Don Stevenson (Mobey Grape) on Don’s King Of The Fools recording.

Tim has three solo CDs, “Unspoken Words”, “Many Places” and “Paesaggio Sonori (Soundscapes)”, including numerous others as a sideman. Tim endorses Chapin Guitars and plays through Mesa Boogie Amplifiers.

Of Tim’s playing, Jazz Player Magazine noted “elements of styles as diverse as those of Frisell, Scofield, Abercrombie, and Burrell. Co-composer with Ann Dyer Cervantes the 80-person Vak Choir of “Everyday” Voices share their experiences of this year-long project and a full-evening performance commissioned by San Francisco’s leading cutting-edge arts institution, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (2013). Volpicella appears on only two tracks, but it’s enough to make a big impression. His post-chromodal lines heard on “Interlude IV” are done with such unusual phrasings on his guitar, it would have been worth further investigation. Volpicella has also performed with New York bassist Thomas Morgan.

Tim Volpicella’s Resume

Tim Volpicella’s Biography