Jon Durant :: guitarist | composer | producer

Guitarist Jon Durant brings a unique sense of texture and melody to his instrument. His distinctive “cloud guitar” soundscapes and engaging lead work have graced numerous CD recordings and film soundtracks. As executive producer of Alchemy Records, he produces recordings for internationally acclaimed artists in his small Massachusetts-based studio.

berklee and beyond

Jon attended Berklee College of Music in the early 80s, after having studied privately with fusion guitar legend and Emmy Award-winning composer Randy Roos. Jon bolted before long (too much jazz for his independent, prog-rock spirit), but has kept playing and recording with Roos to this day.

Post-Berklee, Jon earned a marketing degree from Emerson College and worked in HiFi for Nantucket Sound, NAD (electronics) and Atlantic Technologies (speakers). Later, as Marketing Manager at digital-audio innovators Lexicon, he handled artist relations and got his daily guitar-freak fix as the primary demo guy for the JamMan and Vortex looping/morphing effects products.

After seven years his independent spirit kicked in once again. Jon dropped out of the corporate world to immerse himself in his own music. He started Alchemy Records in 1996 and has never looked back. In addition to longtime collaborators Tony Levin (bassist with King Crimson and Peter Gabriel), percussionist Vinny Sabatino, pianist Michael Whalen, and guitar/synth master Randy Roos, Jon has recorded with Colin Edward of Porcupine Tree, electric violinist Caryn Lyn, percussionist Jerry Leake, New York singer/songwriter Porter Smith, soul singer Ray Greene and many others.

on the home front

Jon now has a lot more time to play music with his two teenage sons. With Matt on bass and Harrison on guitar and keys, they do their own thing and cover lots of Porcupine Tree, Sigur Ros, Foals (and some Zappa, naturally). Jon has also collaborated on recordings with his brother, Lexington, KY–based Kingston Durant, as well. The two briefly had a quartet in New Hampshire playing their own original jazz compositions.

on a desert island

If forced to answer the question, “If stuck on a desert island and you could only bring three records, what would they be?” Jon would answer as follows:

Only three? OK:

• Eberhard Weber, “The Following Morning”
• Peter Gabriel, "III (melt)”
• David Sylvian, “Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities” (yeah, that's where the label got it's name...)

Can I bring a DVD?

• Porcupine Tree, “Anesthetize”