Brendan Neutra got his start as a jazz guitarist playing small group and big band jazz on the East Coast after studying music at Wesleyan University in Conneticut. After moving to the Bay Area in 1995, he became fascinated with Salsa and Latin Jazz and, in particular, the bass. He made the switch and has never looked back. He traveled to Cuba to study music in 2003. He has performed with various Bay Area artists such as Josh Jones, John Calloway and Ray Obeido and has recorded and played everything from South Indian pop to Brazilian jazz. He currently plays Latin, Brazilian, Jazz and Salsa with various groups in the Bay Area. Some history from Brendan: I began studying music at the age of 12 when I picked up the guitar. I would dabble in piano, drums and bass before settling on jazz guitar, studying at Wesleyan University with such artists as Jay Hoggard, Ed Blackwell and Anthony Braxton. My guitar studies were under the guidance of Tony Lombardozzi. I came to the Bay Area in 1995. Gravitating toward the Big Band format, I performed weekly with the Herbert Mims Big Band throughout 1998 as guitarist. I also held the guitar chair with the award winning College of Alameda Big Band with which I won awards from the Reno Jazz Festival competition for individual soloist performances. The COA Band, led by the great pianist Bill Bell, recorded a CD in 2000. In 2002, I recorded with the South Indian composer/musician Mahesh Shankar on the CD "Mugangal". I also worked with Mahesh in 2003 playing both electric bass and guitars on two film scores: "Flavors" and "Knock Knock." I have studied with bassists Glenn Richman, Curtis Ohlson and David Belove as well as with Drummer/Percussionist Josh Jones. In February of 2003 I traveled to Cuba to study music at the National School of the Arts in Havana through the PlazaCuba program where I studied traditional and modern Cuban music with some of Cuba's best. On the Brazilian tip, I've studied with Marcos Silva and Jovino Santos Neto.