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Ryan Blotnick

I love music

About Me

Ryan Blotnick (b. April 30, 1983) is an American guitarist and composer. He has performed with many leading voices in jazz and recorded five albums of his own music. He teaches jazz and improvisation at the College of the Atlantic, leads his own quartet and performs with the Soulbenders, FISHBLOT, Danny Fisher- Lochhead��s World of Difference, Caroline Cotter and Katherine Perkins. His musical compositions have formed the backdrop for films that merited prestigious awards at some of the largest film festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Full Frame and DOC NYC.

At sixteen, Ryan attended William Paterson University��s renowned jazz program in a class alongside classmates Ned Ferm, Mark Guiliana, Tyshawn Sorey and Sam Barsh. He later transferred to the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen where he studied with Jakob Bro and won the Danish Young Jazz Competition with his group Ugly Customer. In New York City, he studied with Steve Cardenas and counterpoint guru Paul Caputo, and tracked down living legends like Barry Altschul, John Abercrombie, Lee Konitz and Andrew Cyrille. He toured and recorded with Pete Robbins & Centric, Michael Blake, Akoya Afrobeat and others. Upon the release of his debut album Music Needs You, Jazz Times heralded him as ��one of the bright lights on the burgeoning Brooklyn-based modern jazz scene,�� with guitar icons Ben Monder and John Abercrombie recommending the album. Blotnick��s second album Everything Forgets (Songlines, 2010) featured European improvisers Joachim Badenhorst and Simon Jermyn, and drummers Joe Smith and Jeff Williams. It interspersed free improvisation with driving post-rock and ��somber late-night listening (Bruce Lee Gallanter).�� His third album Solo, Volume I (2012) explored the sparseness of the acoustic guitar. Nate Chinen of the New York Times wrote a glowing review, calling Blotnick ��a natural�� and noting that it ��gives the sense of an intensely thoughtful design ... the atmosphere is such that every liberty registers as both audacious and reasonable.�� Lucid Culture called it ��a goldmine of inspiration for guitarists in a wide range of styles.��

In 2015, Blotnick returned to his home state of Maine, where he started a weekly residency at Local 188 in Portland with drummer RJ Miller and bassist Tyler Heydolph. This led to a new book of tunes that explored African and Middle- Eastern rhythms and modal harmony, which he then recorded with Michael Blake, RJ Miller and Scott Colberg (Kush, Songlines 2016). Something Else reviews wrote ��The mastery of space and tone within an improvisational setting is an art few have truly mastered; with Kush, Ryan Blotnick has shown himself to be among such rare masters.��

Living outside the city gave Blotnick a chance to return to his roots in nature. More time and space allowed him to become a diligent sideman - an active performer on bass as well as guitar - and to forge a successful career scoring documentary films. His relationship with saxophonist Danny Fisher-Lochhead and songwriter Katherine Perkins have sparked an abundance of projects including his improvised duo project FISHBLOT, which released its album small talk during the pandemic (Ears & Eyes, 2022). Blotnick recently contributed lead guitar to Katherine��s album Being Younger (Twelve | Eight Records, 2024) and Danny Fisher-Lochhead��s World of Difference, a large ensemble record featuring some of Maine��s most forward- thinking improvisers. As of early 2025 he was finishing a new album of originals recorded in April 2024 with Tyler Wood, Adam Chilenski and Otto Hauser.

My Favorite Local Jazz Venues & Festivals