The Snow Owl Flies Low



German bio click here.
Spanish bio click here.

Juan Sebastian Garcia-Herreros, also known as "The Snow Owl", is a native born Colombian Bassist & Composer, notable for his virtuoso musicianship and for his use of a customised 6-stringed Electric Contrabass Guitar.



History


Juan Sebastian Garcia-Herreros was born in Bogotá, Colombia. His first musical studies began with Flute at the age 9 after moving to New york City with his family. Once he completed middle school his family relocated once again to Dunedin, Florida where he discovered the electric bass. Due to the fact that his family was unable to afford private lessons his passion for learning fueled him to become a self-taught musician. Juan was just 16 when he began to teach Music Theory and Jazz Performance at Dunedin High School in Florida. His high school band teacher recognized his young talent and encouraged him to also study acoustic bass so that he could be a part of the symphonic band in school. After spending many dedicated hours playing both acoustic and electric bass, he auditioned and became proficient enough to perform with the Tampa Bay Symphony at just 17 years of age.


At the same time Juan competed in New Orleans for a slot in Berklee College of Music's Scholarship tour and received a coveted scholarship to attend the prestigious school in Boston.


He studied at Berklee with world-renowned bass instructors Bruce Gertz, Joe Santerre, Rich Appleman and Oscar Stagnaro.


At age 21, he returned to New York City to pursue a professional music career. While in New York, Juan developed the ability to meet the demands of multiple styles. Whether the musical genre is Jazz, Pop, Funk, Salsa, straight-ahead Rock, Modern, Classical, Heavy Metal, or Avante Garde, he is capable of participating without any artistic compromise.


At age 26, he moved to Vienna, Austria where he currently resides.


Awards & Recognitions


  • In 2006 Snow Owl received the Best Jazz Artist award by Jazz First, a cooperation between Jazzeit Magazine, Quinton Records and Erste Bank. Jazz First seeks to identify young Jazz talent and then support them in the furtherance of their career.The Award recognizes Snow Owl as an "extraordinary bass player" and says ''"[h]is characteristic sound and charismatic performances bring new perspectives to the Electric Contrabass Guitar within a musical genre which is more commonly associated with the Acoustic Bass."''


  • His Debut album as a leader ( Snow Owl ) was selected as Critic's Choice in Germany by Bayerisches Rundfunk in 2006.


  • 2008 Hans Koller Preis CD of the Year for Martin Reiter's "ALMA". The CD features Juan Garcia-Herreros on "Pra Frederic"


  • In 2008 Juan Garcia-Herreros was invited to teach Electric Bass for the Jazz Institute in Graz. He is the first Colombian to be honored with such an academic position in Austria.


  • February 2009 He was selected as a Projekt xchange ambassador to represent Colombia and his integration as an artist in Austrian society. Projekt xchange focuses in bringing foreign and established public figures into Austrian classrooms to talk about their positive and negative experiences of integrating in a foreign country. The Austrian president Dr.Heinz Fischer personally thanked and congratulated him in the opening ceremonies which took place in Vienna's Hofburg palace.




Performances & Collaborations


During his career, Juan has performed/collaborated with an impressive list of musicians, including:

  • Grammy Award recipients Elton John, Victor Wooten and The Spanish Harlem Orchestra

  • Drum virtuosos Antonio Sanchez, Jojo Mayer, Terri Lyne Carrington and Thomas Lang

  • Alto saxophonists Greg Osby, James Spaulding, Miguel Zenon, Yosvany Terry, Anton Denner, Klaus Dickbauer and Wolfgang Puschnig

  • Trumpetists Lew Soloff and Michael Phillip Mossman

  • Turkish Pop Stars Sertab Erener & Demir Demirkan

  • ECM recording artist José Maria Saluzzi

  • Latin Jazz Piano legends Hector Martignon and Oscar Hernandez

  • Latin Jazz Percussionists Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez , Jorge Bezerra,

  • Master Timbalero "Chino" Nuñes, Roberto and Luisito Quintero and Bobby Sanabria

  • RMM Salsa recording artists Michael Stuart and Johnny Rivera.

  • Jazz / Funk guitarists Mark Whitfield and Alegre Correa

  • Modern Jazz Pianists Bill Carrothers, Paul Urbanek and Edward Simon.

  • Acoustic Bass Pioneers Harvie S and Peter Herbert


  • As a composer his original compositions have been featured in the off- Broadway production of "Anatomy of a Knucklehead."


  • Since 2005 Juan has performed as a Featured Artist at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California as well as two solo bass concerts at the 2006 Frankfurt Musikmesse.


  • Due to his ability to speak German, English and Spanish fluently, he has taught Bass workshops and Masterclasses internationally for the past five years.


  • Snow Owl's performances have included major festivals and venues stretching from Moscow to Europe, Asia, Brazil and The U.S.A



Endorsements


  • Thomastik-Infeld strings

  • Vovox Cables

  • D.N.A Amplification

  • Neubauer Guitars