Testimonials
5 -Star Yelp Reviews
Jack Eskridge is an exceptional teacher for guitar and music theory. I have been taking lessons from Jack for 20 years, all through which I have grown immensely as a musician. We have worked on folk, rock, blues and jazz. He is a master at all of them. I remember when I was taking lessons for the first time and how much better all of a sudden I could perform on my guitar. Really amazing. All you have to do is go try a couple of lessons and you will see what goals you have can be met if you practice with him. You can practice for a half hour or an hour, or more, whatever you wanna do. I personally commit to doing multiple hours of lessons with him and we end up doing them over the course of a couple, few weeks and it works really well for me to be driven to practice and get better at stuff fast because we are meeting a lot. I know that professional musicians with decades of experience go to Jack Eskridge to further their abilities. That says a lot. He has 35 years of teaching experience, has developed a very effective teaching style and those are the reasons why he is considered to be the go to guy for jazz and many other styles of playing. I'm not sure how, probably from an immense amount of gifted ability and hard work he has put into his trade for so many years, but he is fantastic at guitar and music theory and is a jazz monster. We just worked on three complex Brazilian Jazz tunes in the last couple of weeks. So brilliant. He can help with everything. He is the best teacher I have ever had on guitar. Highly recommended. -- Brian B. 7/30/2016
I have played guitar since I was a kid and was mostly self taught, although I tried numerous guitar teaches through that journey. I started playing guitar because I wanted to sing. I have been with a number of bands and have tried guitar lessons with quite a few teachers. The lessons with those teachers never lasted long. Frankly, they were simply not very good and couldn't respond to my needs and the "holes" in my playing.
I was sharing these feelings about ten years ago with a friend who is a professional entertainer. He said, "the best guitar teacher in California is in Orinda." That started me on the road back to lessons. My friend was right. Jack is not only an amazing guitar player, but also an amazing teacher of just about any style in which you might be interested. Often, great players don't make great teachers. But, if you are going to take up guitar seriously, or even semi-seriously, you should call Jack. -- Jeff M. 6/20/2013
I took lessons from Jack for many years (more than 10). I was very happy with him. So happy that I stayed his student until I moved away to go to college to study music and resumed when I got back.
He is a monster jazz player with an encyclopedic knowledge of anything I ever had questions about or wanted to learn, no matter what style. Rock licks, bebop licks, jazz progressions, ridiculously fast country licks, rock songs I couldn't figure out - these were all things that Jack understood in spades. He was flexible about what we studied, following my changing interests and leading me through the steps down each new path, giving me an arsenal of tricks to take along.
He knows and plays with a lot of heavy musicians outside of teaching and turned me on to great local players and free music - got me very fired up about music in general.
After college I went to GIT in LA, and had a lot more life experience around music. Despite all that, Jack was the best teacher I ever had on the guitar. His profound knowledge and expertise, infectious enthusiasm about music of all styles and good nature were gifts that I still am learning to appreciate and still benefit from now. Whether you are just starting out or are an experienced player I can't recommend Jack highly enough. -- Joseph L. 10/16/2013
Jack is an EXCELLENT teacher!! He knows guitar and music theory, no doubt at a grand-master level... but not only is he a master performer; he can really effectively teach and explain!!!
When I initially signed up, I paid for 30 minute lessons per week. After taking the first two lessons and realizing how much I have improved, I asked to change to 1 hour per week. Jack is able to determine what you need to work on in order to achieve your goals.
If you're trying to learn how to play guitar, I would STRONGLY recommend you meet with Jack Eskridge!! -- Michael B. 8/1/2013
After 40 years of studying guitar and playing professionally, I began working with Jack. Surprisingly, he had much to show me about the nuances of technique. Also, his method of presentation facilitates faster learning. After studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of music and the Jazzschool in Berkeley, I found his instruction to be perfect to take me to a higher level. Since he is a master of virtually all styles, he is able to instantly respond to any questions I may have. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! -- James F. 2/18/2014
After too many years strumming away on open “folk” chords, I became determined to take on the full neck of the guitar and study blues and jazz. Wow, did I come to the right place! Jack has guided me through a series of logical steps to grow my ability to play across the neck, learning new moveable chords, alternate voicings, arpeggios, and of course scales. But beyond the technicalities, Jack more importantly helps you grow as a musician. He is a deep well of musical know how that can explain the “why’s” of music, deconstructing the music of your favorite musicians so you can see the theory underneath it. In the blues genre, Jack literally “wrote the book” on blues progressions (and has more coming) – but he is equally at home in any style. Beyond the music, Jack is a pleasure to study with, easy going and good natured. For all these reasons, I study both guitar and music theory with Jack and highly recommend him. -- Tom Zundel, 10/11/2017
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