About David Tronzo
Born 1957. David Tronzo is an American musician, music educator, university teacher and jazz guitarist.
David Tronzo (born 1957) is an American guitarist, best known for his innovation of pairing the techniques of electric slide guitar with the genres of bebop, modern jazz, rock, downtown music, and experimental music. He has recorded with former David Bowie guitarist Reeves Gabrels, Wayne Horvitz, David Sanborn, and The Lounge Lizards.
Biography David Tronzo was born in 1957 in Rochester, New York. He was drawn to music at age eleven and decided on guitar by age thirteen and taught himself. By age fifteen he was playing gigs. "I was playing five nights a week, though I really just had three good notes and five good chords." He credits rock music as an early influence.
He appeared in the movie Talking Guitars as himself in 2007. His work has also appeared on the soundtracks of two films: Short Cuts in 1993 and Excess Baggage in 1997.
Tronzo has been an associate professor at the Berklee College of Music
Awards and honors 1993 Voted one of the Top 100 Guitarists of the 20th Century in Musician magazine Press Poll 1994 Voted one of the Top Ten Jazz Guitarists by Musician magazine 1995 Voted second in its 1995 poll for Best Experimental Guitarist by Guitar Player magazine
Discography As leader Roots (Knitting Factory, 1994) Night in Amnesia with Reeves Gabrels (Upstart, 1995) Crunch (Love Slave, 1999) Scratchy Monsters, Laughing Ghosts with Stephen Vitiello (New Albion, 2005) The Light and Other Things (Creative Nation Music, 2007)
As member Queen of All Ears, Lounge Lizards (Strange & Beautiful Music, 1998) Redemption, Slow Poke (Intuition, 1999) At Home, Slow Poke (Palmetto, 2007) V16, V16 (2003) The Sonic Temple Monday and Tuesday, V16 (2007) Vancouver '08, V16 (2008) 100 Years of Flight, Club D'Elf (KUFALA, 2005) Gravity All Nonsense Now, Club D'Elf (KUFALA, 2005) Now I Understand, Club D'Elf (Accurate, 2006) Electric Moroccoland/So Below, Club D'Elf (Face Pelt, 2011)
As sideman Another Hand, David Sanborn (1991) Life's Too Short, Marshall Crenshaw (1991) Live at the Knitting Factory, John Zorn (1992) Phillip Johnston's Big Trouble, Phillip Johnston (1992) Last Day on Earth, John Cale/Bob Neuwirth (1994) Time Was, Curtis Stigers (1995) Travel On, Julian Dawson (1995) Walking on Locusts, John Cale (1996) An American Diary Vol. 2, Mike Mainieri (1999) Candy and Dirt, Heather Eatman (1999) Tender Trap, Janis Siegel (1999) Written in Red, Louise Taylor (2000) Real, Heather Eatman (2001) Dime Grind Palace, Sex Mob (2003) You Inspire Me, Curtis Stigers (2003)
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in David Tronzo's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped David Tronzo's
Frequently asked questions
Who is David Tronzo?
American musician
When was David Tronzo born?
David Tronzo was born on 13 December 1957 in Rochester.
What is David Tronzo's occupation?
David Tronzo is a musician, music educator, university teacher and jazz guitarist.
What nationality is David Tronzo?
David Tronzo is American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). David Tronzo. https://biography.guide/david-tronzo/
MLA: "David Tronzo." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/david-tronzo/.
Chicago: "David Tronzo." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/david-tronzo/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:14 UTC