Tor Snyder

bio

  I was raised in New York and grew up in a family of artists.  My father, Shelly, is a painter and my mother, Ruby, is a guitar player and singer- she even put out a record in 1965 (which I will soon feature as a digital download).  Our family guitars around the house and as my sister, Tova, began to paint (www.tovasnyder.com) I began to strum.
 
From the age of eight I was hooked on Hendrix as well as a range of blues from Lightning Hopkins and Robert Johnson to Muddy Waters, Albert King, B.B. King, Carlos Santana and Johnny Winter.  My early experience with Jazz was focused on electric Miles Davis, Larry Coryell, Mahavishnu Orchestra and the like.  My high school band was covering songs from Hendrix’s "Pali Gap" to the blues staple “Tobacco Road” as well as jazz fusion.  
 
In 1981 I found my way to Bennington College and was promptly introduced to the great innovators Bill Dixon, Milford Graves and Arthur Brooks (who was my first real teacher).  Their music and philosophy had a profound impact and widened my perspective on improvisation, and personal _expression.  Trumpeter Arthur Brooks had recorded with Sonny Sharrock and was the one who led me to Sonny’s music and a new guitar vocabulary.  It was at this time that I began my collaboration with the drummer Dennis Warren who was responsible for introducing me to “Pangea” by Miles Davis and the guitar work of Pete Cosy. 
 
I moved to Boston in 1984 and continued to work with Dennis Warren and his brother David.  Together, we founded the “Underground Voice Band”.  My first time in the recording studio yielded the release “Poly Sonic City” later that year.  The UVB performed as far as Montreal and was a powerful band!. By 1987 the group disbanded and Dennis formed the “Full Metal Revolutionary Jazz Ensemble.”  This legendary group  has featured, among others, Raphe Malik, Glen Spearman, Daniel Carter, Raqib Hassan, Marco Eneidi, Roy Campbell Jr., Sabir Mateen, Joe Guardillo, Sheryl Bailey and Kenny Burrell Jr.  Please check out www.fmrje.com for a full history of this band as well as e downloads of recent music that I’ve done with Dennis.
 
I continued working with David Warren in his band, “Dark Matter. David is a virtuoso on the level of Stanley Clarke or Victor Wooten.  Everybody should have a chance to hear him play.  In 1994 David released his debut cd. “Dark Matter”.  It features the two of us as a trio and a quartet with Raqib Hassan on Tenor Sax.
 
In my Boston years, I also worked with the amazing Raqib Hassan and began producing my own concerts and multi-media events with my friend, the visual artist Guadulesa.  Ten years at the Community Music Center of Boston led to my development of an amazing project: YEOW – Youth Electric Orchestra and Workshop.  This unique band featured over 30 young talents, ranging in age from 8 to 18 who were all featured as creative equals.  Using all of their talents this band performed in Harvard Square, at the Museum of Fine Arts, at street festivals throughout the city and even at a reception for the Mayor.  This project brought into focus some of the concepts and activities that I continue today as a teaching artist in the New York Public Schools and a faculty member of the Lucy Moses School for Music and Dance. 
 
My New York debut arrived in 1994 with the FMRJE at the Stork Music Festival.  At this time I finally met and befriended the great musician Sonny Sharrock and he was generous enough to lend his time to encourage and promote the music of Dennis and the FMRJE.  Although Sonny passed on a short time later, his spirit and encouragement have carried me a long way.
 
I finally moved back to N.Y. in 1997 and performed my first concert as a member of “Marc Edwards Slip Stream Time Travel”.  I am still performing as a member of this excellent band. 
 
As I began to make inroads in the NY scene (thanks in large part to Sabir Mateen and Daniel Carter who introduced me to many musicians) I’ve worked in great groups led by William Hooker, David Pleasant, Jackson Krall, Ras Moshe and Glenn Branca, as well as gigs with the FMRJE (with Raphe Malik as primary composer) and Dark Matter. I also did some notable concerts with “Zigi and the Lionhearts” featuring Kenwood Dennard, Delmar Brown, and T.M. Stevens.
 
I debuted Irrepressible Spirit on January 2nd, 1999 at the Knitting Factory.  Our initial presentation featured drummer David Pleasant, bassist David C. Gross, and pianist Toby Kasavan.  The set that night included “Machine Gun” by Jimi Hendrix and “Many Mansions” by Sonny Sharrock. 
 
In 1999 I began using the “Talker” technology that developed into my concept of “VoiceGuitar”.  I had the means to meld my breathing and vocalizations with the electric signal of my guitar.  I found this liberating and I began to explore new sonic territory.  You can hear much of this on the Irrepressible Spirit c.d.
 
By 2000, I was meeting with so many great musicians that my Irrepressible Spirit gigs became a golden opportunity to assemble inspired combinations of musicians.  I’m deeply grateful to all of the following musicians who have participated in one or more of my Irrepressible Spirit concerts.  For the past two years I have been collaborating with a core of musicians: drummer Ravish Momin, violinist Eric Salazar, and bassist/reed-player/percussionist Zak Sherzad.   The music of Irrepressible Spirit has embraced a global sound even as I continue to aspire toward music that is energized, free, and spiritual.