is a guitarist, composer and educator living in Austin, TX. After receiving his Masters degree in jazz/classical guitar from the University of North Texas in 1986 he moved to New York City where he was a full-time resident until 2006 then split his time between New York, Austin and Boston until late 2013 when he sold his Brooklyn home. He has been commuting weekly from Austin to Boston and back since 2006, a dark period now thankfully coming to a close.


During his tenure in NY he recorded, performed and toured with some of the worlds best musicians. A partial list would include: Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Bill Stewart, Peter Erskine, Kenny Werner, Ben Monder, Donny McCaslin, Joe Lovano, Bill Pierce, Bobby Previte, Mark Murphy and many others. Since moving to Austin he has played with most of the world-class jazz musicians in the city and state as well as continuing to perform and record as a leader. His most recent recording is entitled “Drift” and was recorded in New York at Skyline Studios. A recording in New York planned for this summer is currently on hiatus but recordings with his Austin musical family are in the works.


Bruce has performed as a leader and sideman worldwide but most notably at many renowned New York venues including Birdland, The Blue Note, Smalls, Fat Cat, The Jazz Standard, The Knitting Factory, Barbes, Detour, Smoke, Tonic and many others. He has conducted clinics and concerts in Colombia, Portugal, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Japan as well as throughout the United States including many clinics at Berklee. He has 7 CDs as a leader and has been a sideman on numerous other recordings. He is the author of six guitar method books published by Mel Bay Publications.

Bruce Saunders

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