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Born in Queens, New York, guitarist Ed Stephen has been playing professionally since the age of thirteen. Primarily a self-taught musician, he counts Johnny Smith, Howard Alden, George Van Eps, Bill Evans, and Phil Woods, among his influences. "In fact, an on-going goal of mine is to develop a technique like Johnny Smith, while com ing up with ideas like Bill Evans!" quipped the gregarious and gracious Ed Stephen. His checkered career in New York found him in such situations that ultimately provided him with a wide range of musical experiences.

Among those were nightclub acts, club dates, and society bands - most notably, The Lester Lanin organization. Because of his easy-going personality and his enormous musical talent, he became an in-demand musician, appearing on many recordings and shows. Expanding his musical curiosity into the arenas of composing, arranging, and singing was a natural outgrowth for Ed.

As a young man, his undergraduate work started at the Manhattan School of Music. Because there was not a jazz guitar program there, he majored in Music Theory. He later transferred to Hofstra University, where he was introduced to another side of the guitar .... the classical guitar. This was a new facet of guitar playing for Ed and it enabled him to play a wide range of music written by the great masters.
He continued his schooling at Hofstra College in Long Island, where he received his Bachelor's degree. Finally, he earned his Master's degree in music composition at CW Post College in Long Island. To help pay for school and support himself, he taught at two colleges on Long Island. After moving to Colorado in 1975, Ed taught Jazz Guitar at the University of Colorado at Denver. He recently retired from teaching reading and English as a second language for the Rangeview Library District in Adams County.
His Colorado playing credentials include the type of diversity strongly associated with such a skilled musician as Ed Stephen. He has worked with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Pops Concerts. Those concerts featured the likes of Michel Legrand, Carol Lawrence, Oscar Peterson, and Ferrante & Teicher.
One of his personal highlights was when a quartet combo was selected to play with Michel Legrand during his song, I Will Wait for You. Pianist Legrand wanted the guitar, bass, and drums, to join him. Ed was the guitarist selected to play.

Ed Stephen has performed at jazz festivals in the Denver area, such as the Evergreen, Fort Morgan's Glenn Miller Festival, Longmont Jazz Festival, and Denver Jazz Club, among others. Some of the national venues he has played in include the Walt Smith's Roaring Fork Jazz Party, which has featured Harry ArIen; the Sacramento Jazz Festival, and the West Coast Jazz Festival, where he worked with the Summit Ridge Jazz Band with Bob Craven as leader.

Because of seeing Howard Alden play the 7 -string guitar, Ed now plays a 7 -string guitar almost exclusively. Ed leads his own ensembles and works with several groups in Denver, as well. Among those he has worked with are Centerpiece Jazz, which features Joni Janak, Ron Moewes, and Dean Ross, a group unique in that the three instrumentalists also join Joni in singing four-part harmony, for which, Ed writes the vocal arrangements; The Gordon Dooley Orchestra, Vern Baumer, Bob Craven, and Carl Fontana. Ed has been a music contractor, and does a wide variety of work, which runs the gamut from jazz to ballroom dancing, to big band music. He's a working musician.
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Currently, he participates with Centerpiece Jazz. This four-part harmony group has released its first CD, Get Outta Here!. Their CD is available at www.cdbaby.com, or by e-mailing rpmoewes@comcast.net.

He continues to teach Jazz Guitar and can be reached at (303) 772-0851.