Jim Shannon was born in a small Texas town where he began music lessons at the age of 11. Jim helped pay for his first guitar with a paper route. His Mother was an accomplished pianist and artist. Both his Mother and Father loved music and were friends with a sax player who worked with the great Trombonist Jack Teagarden. It was this friend who said, "Keep up the music as no one can ever take that away from you!" Jim's Mother would take a bus to Dallas to see the Jazz greats of the time. Jim began leading his own band in high school. Jim later attended the University of North Texas, and was a member of the renowned 1:00 Lab Band under Leon Breeden. His work in Jazz clubs paid his way through college and was a major factor in his musical development. Finding himself in such a fertile musical environment he was forced to learn fast and to this extent was largely self taught by experience and surroundings. Working with the Flo Green Trio and Bob Stewart and CO. were an important element of artistic growth.

While working with the Organ B3 group headed by drummer Bob Stewart and leading his own group in the Ft Worth /Dallas area Jim performed with the following notable players: Red Garland and Ray Charles allumni Hank Crawford, David "Fathead" Newman, and James Clay. During the same years Jim also performed with Lou Donaldson, Julius Hemphill, Marchel Ivory, Mack Goldsbury, Organist Flo Green, Bob Stewart and Co, Organist Clyde George and Stevie Wonder.

Jim has also performed with Organist Jimmy Smith, Billy Hart, Ed Soph, Lynn Seaton, Lee Konitz, Bassist Ed Schuller (son of Gunther Schuller) and The Les Elgart Orchestra among others. Billy Hart, Mack Goldsbury and Ed Schuller can be heard on Jim's first record release.

More bio below:

Shannon has given concerts and clinics at the University of North Texas, Weatherford College, El Centro College, Brookhaven College, San Angelo Jazz Festival, Oklahoma Charlie Christian Jazz Festival as well as other colleges and schools. Several of Jim's former students are now noted professionals including internationally known Jazz Guitarist, Bruce Foreman. During his formative years, Jim studied with classical guitar master Regino Sanz De La Maza in Madrid and at Southern Methodist University. He also performed in master classes held by Pepe Romero and Jose Tomas.>>>>>>>>>>>

Some recent press below:

Guitarist Jim Shannon recording,
playing live music again

12:00 AM CST on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
By MARIO TARRADELL Music Critic mtarradell@dallasmorningnews.com

ALLEN - Jazz guitarist Jim Shannon is ready to perform for audiences again after a two-month sabbatical following the end of his decadelong tenure as a teacher at Brookhaven College.



He's also resumed his recording career, releasing Out of the Blue last year, nine years after his last disc, 2000's Silent Voices.

"The music business today is so ... you gotta be on the Internet," he says while sitting on his couch. "It just takes a lot of time to get yourself out on the Internet, book gigs and all that stuff. ... So now I'm honing up stuff that I wasn't able to do while I was teaching. I'm at a point right now where I want to do a lot more recording. I already have about half of another CD ready."

Shannon, who discovered his passion for guitar playing at 11, began his musicianship with steel guitar lessons while growing up in Weatherford. Those steel guitar tutorials led to him teaching himself how to play electric and acoustic guitar. Then jazz found him.

"There was this family in Weatherford, a black family," he says. "Their father had a furniture shop. They had a band, and they rehearsed in the furniture shop. I started hanging out in the furniture shop, and for some reason they asked me to go out on some of their gigs. It was a rhythm and blues band. I walked into the furniture shop one day, and they were playing Jimmy Smith and Kenny Burrell. I said, 'That's it. That's what I want to do.' "

Jim released his first Jazz Album in 1980 to great reviews and solid air play. His second CD, Silent Voices was released in 2000. The review of Silent Voices in Cadence Magazine (a prestigious international Jazz CD review magazine) is quoted; "Intense and melodic" Bright and free wheeling and full of the blusey accents that can't help but bring a smile to your face" "A fun bent note swagger in his playing" "This is more very good jazz guitar"

Jim currently leads his own Jazz group and is active in recording and composition. Jim was Professor of music at at El Centro College in Dallas Texas for many years and subsequently at Brookhaven College School of the Arts in Dallas, from 2000-2009. While at both Colleges, he taught Jazz and Classical guitar plus Jazz Improvisation. Jim has won several awards for teaching including the Nisod Excellence in teaching award from the University of Texas at Austin and excellence in teaching awards from the Dallas County Community College District.

He was part of the Grammy-nominated One O'Clock Lab Band at the University of North Texas in 1969 under musical director Leon Breeden. He recalls his time with the renowned band as "a great training ground, no doubt about it." But today Shannon prefers a quieter, sparer musical approach.

Out of the Blue, featuring bassist Lynn Seaton and drummer Andrew Griffith, is a stripped-down affair. The disc was recorded live without much rehearsal. Shannon prefers that kind of creative environment.

"Recording live is the format I chose. I don't really care for an overproduced sound."

That quiet, free-expression style agrees with Shannon's beliefs in Eastern philosophy. When asked for his age, Shannon had this to say: "My philosophy about age is that I don't like to box myself in. ... I don't think about my age. To me it's all a flow of time."

Jim Shannon performs from 6 to 7 tonight at the Sammons Jazz Lounge, Sammons Center for the Arts, second floor, 3630 Harry Hines at Oak Lawn, Dallas. The Leigh Tomlinson Memorial Showcase, featuring concerts headlined by Carolyn Lee Jones and Ardina Lockhart, begins at 7 p.m. $35. www.sammonsartcenter.org.