Bob Roetker's Biography
Born June 11, 1948 in Cincinnati, Ohio - Bob has been playing guitar for more than thirty years, performing all across the United States. He has played with such musical celebrities as Cal Collins, Gary Thomas, Chris Vadalia, Bobby Shew, Rich Mattison, Delbert Felix, Billy Drummond, Howard Curtis, and the Johnny Trudeau Orchestra. Bob also toured and recorded with the 'Jazz Ambassadors', the Army's official touring jazz ensemble, for five years - appearing on television and radio shows nationwide, and at some of the major educational conferences including the National Association of Jazz Educators (NAJE) convention in 1980, now known as the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE).
Bob has also authored an instructional jazz guitar chord book entitled 'Jazz Chords and Progressions' which carries with it an endorsement by legendary jazz great Joe Pass and has been featured in a guitar clinic given by Jack Peterson at the International Association of Jazz Educators.
He also was primarily responsible for the organization and musical arrangements of the group 'Great Guitars of Tidewater' which was featured on National Public Radio in 1988. This same group was featured again in 1993 as 'Guitarology' in Cincinnati for the Jazz Live at the Hyatt series and again in 1995 for the Cincinnati Jazz Guitar Society.
Bob spent half of his 20 year military career as the sole guitar instructor and sometime bass instructor, combo instructor and theory instructor for the Armed Forces School of Music - the only music school in the military. He retired from active duty in 1990 and is thrilled to be back in his home town of Cincinnati - land of Skyline Chili, White Castle Hamburgers, United Dairy Farmers, Cincinnati Reds, and Cincinnati Bengals.
Since returning to his home town of Cincinnati, Bob has performed regularly at several area clubs including the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, Co Co's, the Dee Felice Cafe, and many other clubs and restaurants in the Greater Cincinnati Area, as well as the first Riverboat Row Jazz Festival in Newport, KY. and several Cincinnati Jazz Guitar Society presentations. Bob has also been a featured clinician for the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music Guitar Department and the Cincinnati Jazz Guitar Society. Sadly, the Cincinnati Jazz Guitar Society is now defunct.
Bob now works in Information Technology for Hewlett Packard at Procter & Gamble and continues to play jazz as often as possible in the evenings. See his calendar for bookings.