Faculty Information

paul musso headshot

Paul Musso

Associate Professor
  • Music and Entertainment Studies (CAM)

Email Address:paul.musso@ucdenver.edu

Primary Phone:303-315-7463

Associate Professor Musso has been at CU Denver for 34 years, 15 of which were spent as the director for the jazz and commercial guitar program. He is currently the Performance Program Director for MEIS. In 2022, he launched his podcast “LYNX Cast” which showcases MEIS student and alumni songwriters, performers, and producers from CU Denver’s College of Arts & Media.

Paul is the author of two music theory textbooks: Introduction to Music: An Interactive Approach and Popular Music Theory: An Interactive Approach. He is also the author of several jazz guitar methods for Mel Bay publications including: Fingerstyle Jazz/Teaching Your Guitar To Walk, Graded Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Solos, Improvising With Mini-Arpeggios and Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Chord Soloing. He also co-authored Mel Bay's Master Anthology of Jazz Guitar Solos (2000) alongside guitar greats including Johnny Smith, John Abercrombie, Buckey Pizzarelli, George Van Eps, and Andy Summers.

A Denver native, Paul maintains a career performing guitar locally in jazz ensemble and solo guitar settings. Paul is a versatile guitarist and has performed in several classical ensembles including: the Colorado Symphony, the Boulder Festival Orchestra, and the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra. He has performed in venues throughout Europe, Mexico and the United States. Paul is also a composer, and his self-produced album "Tonescapes" was named one of the top albums from the Denver area in 2011 by Westword Magazine.

Areas of Expertise

Guitar
Theory

Education, Licensure & Certifications

University of Denver
MM; Jazz Performance

University of Colorado Denver
BSM; Music Business





Awards

University of Colorado at Denver Faculty Assembly Service Award (2013) 
Non-Tenure Track Faculty of the Year Award, University of Colorado at Denver College of Arts and Media (2006) 
Denver's Best Guitarist 2000 Citysearch.com, (2000) 

College of Arts & Media

CU Denver

Arts Building

1150 10th Street

Suite 177

Denver, CO 80204


303-315-7400

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