Bio:

Born in Chicago in 1953, Draa Hobbs studied guitar with jazz greats Attila Zoller and Jimmy Raney, and also had private lessons with Gene Bertoncini and Peter Leitch. Draa went on to perform with Attila Zoller in a variety of settings, ranging from a concert with composer David Amram, to a duo performance broadcast live on WRNX in Amherst, Massachusetts.  Draa was one of three guitarists honoring the late Zoller in a concert held at the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro, Vermont.  Along with Draa was Russian guitarist Andre Ryabov, and the great New York guitarist, Vic Juris.  The rhythm section included drummer Barry Altschul.
Past collaborations have included recordings and duo performances with guitarist John Stowell; gigs in New York and  Newfane with tenor saxophonist Jed Levy and Thomson Kneeland; and a recording session for Grammy nominated singer songwriter Lisa McCormick which included Allison Miller on drums and T-Bone Wolk on bass.  Draa was also  on a recently released CD performing the music of classical composer Erik Satie, a project by award winning producer (Joey Defransisco, Danny Gatton) Ed Eastridge. This CD received a great review from Guitar Player.
As a teacher Draa has taught at Marlboro College, Amherst College, The Putney School, The Vermont Jazz Center, and Plymouth State University, where he ran the guitar program and coached guitar ensembles. Draa is currently working on a new solo CD,  as well as preparing for a trio recording with his working group. Draa's recent performances at The Joan Carlock Memorial Concerts have included some of the top names in Jazz, including pianist Armen Donelian; Sax great Jed Levy; bassist/ composer Thomson Kneeland; and drummer Jeff Brillinger. In March, 21012 Draa will be performing at the Vermont Jazz Center with jazz greats bassist Ron McClure, drummer Eliot Zigmund; and pianist Jon Raney (guitar legend Jimmy Raney's son) in a Tribute to Attila Zoller.