Draft:Don Mock


Don Mock
Born(1950-12-22)December 22, 1950
Port Angeles, Washington, United States
DiedApril 14, 2025(2025-04-14) (aged 74)
Seattle, Washington, United States
GenresJazz, jazz-rock, fusion, blues
OccupationsGuitarist, music educator, author, video producer
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1972–2025

Don Mock (December 22, 1950 – April 14, 2025) was an American jazz and fusion guitarist and music educator. Brought to Los Angeles by Howard Roberts in 1977, he was one of the three original guitar instructors of the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) — alongside Joe Diorio and Ron Escheté — at a school that later became part of the Musicians Institute.[1][2] He wrote numerous instructional books for REH Publications and Alfred Music, and from 1983 onward he directed hundreds of guitar instructional videos at GIT and, from 1988, for the REH instructional video line, working with guitarists including Joe Pass, Allan Holdsworth, Robben Ford, Pat Martino, and Frank Gambale.[1] Public radio station KNKX described him as a significant figure in modern guitar education.[3] Outside of music, Mock was active in hydroplane racing as a restorer and board member of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum.[4][1]

Early life and Seattle career

Mock was born in Port Angeles, Washington, and raised in the Seattle area.[1] He attended West Seattle High School and performed in local blues and rock groups before turning toward jazz in the early 1970s, citing guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee, and Mike Bloomfield as early influences.[5]

During the 1970s, Mock was active in the Seattle jazz scene, performing with bassist Gary Peacock (who played piano in that period) in the Third Stream-influenced group Matrix, and with clarinetist Bill Smith and saxophonist Denney Goodhew in the group Spinnaker.[1] Other Seattle-based collaborators in this period included drummer John Bishop, bassist Chuck Deardorf, pianist Marc Seales, and bassist Steve Kim.[1]

Mock began his teaching career in 1972 at the Cornish School of the Allied Arts and Olympic Junior College, both in Washington State.[1][5] In a 2022 Vintage Guitar profile of Howard Roberts, Mock recalled traveling from Seattle to San Francisco in 1972 to attend one of Roberts's guitar seminars, after which he began managing guitar teaching seminars in the Pacific Northwest on Roberts's behalf.[5][6]

Guitar Institute of Technology

In 1977, Roberts recruited Mock to join the founding faculty of the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT), which Roberts had established in Los Angeles together with Pat Hicks as one of the earliest institutions in the United States devoted to professional guitar training.[1][5] Mock was one of the three original guitar instructors of GIT, alongside Joe Diorio and Ron Escheté, and helped develop the school's guitar curriculum.[2][1] A photograph held in the Musicians Institute Digital Library documents his presence on the faculty at the school's first graduating class in March 1978.[7]

Mock taught full-time at GIT until 1983, after which he continued on a part-time basis for approximately ten years, commuting between Seattle and Los Angeles.[1][8] Alongside Roberts, Keith Wyatt, Robben Ford, and Tommy Tedesco, he also conducted seminars promoting GIT in the United States and Europe.[5] His courses covered harmony and theory, fingerboard harmony, single-string technique, rock and fusion, and jazz improvisation.[9] According to the biographical note included in Artful Arpeggios, he was selected by GIT students as instructor of the year for the 1978–79 academic year.[9]

Among Mock's students at GIT were several guitarists who became prominent in their own right, including Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, Paul Gilbert, Keith Wyatt, Dan Gilbert, and Allen Hinds.[8][5][10] Henderson recalled that one of the first things he learned from Mock at GIT was to avoid practicing material that he would not use in actual performance.[11] Wyatt, who later served as director of the guitar program and vice president of programs at the Musicians Institute, described the school in a 2022 podcast as an early pioneer of video-based guitar education, a program in which he and Mock were directly involved.[12]

Mock's role at GIT was recognized in the guitar press both during his active years and after his death. A 2016 Premier Guitar interview with Gilbert, published before Mock's death, framed Diorio, Mock, and Henderson as the school's core "jazz and fusion guys" during Gilbert's time there.[13] A 2020 feature profile of Gambale in Guitar Interactive Magazine characterized GIT during that period as "a melting pot of creative talent," naming Mock among the "legendary educators" on the faculty.[14] In a 2024 Ultimate Guitar feature, Zakk Wylde named Mock among his top underrated guitarists, crediting him as one of the founders of GIT's teaching staff and describing him as a player of John McLaughlin caliber, praising his album Mock One as "pretty devastating."[15] In a 2025 Guitar Player interview, Hinds — who studied at MI during what he described as its "golden years" before joining the faculty — recalled Mock as a guitarist of complete fretboard mastery whose openness to different playing approaches made him an encouraging presence for students.[10]

Publications and recordings

Instructional books

Beginning in 1977, Mock collaborated with publisher Roger E. Hutchinson on a series of guitar method books issued by REH Publications.[1][5] His instructional books on modal harmony, symmetrical scales, arpeggio applications, and dominant-chord concepts were later reissued and expanded by Alfred Music.[8] In 2010, the British magazine Jazzwise reviewed the reprint of Don Mock's Jazz Guitar Masterclass, describing it as one of the better how-to guides in the field and recommending it for intermediate and advanced players.[16] His instructional publications for REH/Alfred have been listed among recommended jazz guitar method books in specialist references.[17]

Mock also contributed a chapter, "Mastering 'Triads Over Bass Notes'," to the 1982 Musicians Institute Publications anthology Ten: Ten Top Guitarists Offer Their Insights to Guitar Artistry, which collected instructional essays by GIT faculty and visiting artists including Larry Carlton, Joe Pass, Tommy Tedesco, Joe Diorio, Jay Graydon, Les Wise, Ron Escheté, Robben Ford, and Eddie Van Halen.[18]

Selected publications include:

  • Artful Arpeggios: Creative Substitution Principles for Improvising (REH Publications, 1977)
  • Hot Licks (REH Publications)
  • Fusion – Hot Lines (REH Publications)
  • Guitar Secrets: Melodic Minor Revealed, Harmonic Minor Revealed, Symmetrical Scales Revealed (Alfred Music)
  • Don Mock's Modal Mojo (Alfred Music, 2009)
  • Don Mock's Mastering the Dominant Chord (Alfred Music)
  • Don Mock's Jazz Guitar Masterclass (Alfred Music, 2009)
  • Arpeggio Alchemy (Guitar Vivo, 2025)[19]

Instructional videos

In 1983, when GIT added video production to its curriculum, Mock was brought in to direct most of the school's 300-plus instructional videos.[8][5] When REH Publications launched its instructional video line in 1988, he was hired as its primary director and producer, a role in which he worked on approximately one hundred titles over the following decade.[5] Artists who appeared in REH instructional videos directed or produced by Mock included Joe Pass, Allan Holdsworth, Robben Ford, Scott Henderson, Herb Ellis, Steve Morse, Paul Gilbert, Pat Martino, Albert Collins, Frank Gambale, Al Di Meola, Keith Wyatt, John Petrucci, Joe Diorio, and Steve Trovato.[8][5] Writing in Earshot Jazz, critic Paul de Barros characterized the cumulative impact of these videos on an emerging generation of guitarists in vivid terms.[1]

Mock also recorded two instructional videos as a featured artist: The Blues from Rock to Jazz and Jazz Guitar Rhythm Chops.[8]

Recordings

In 1978, Mock released the jazz-rock fusion album Mock One on Wolf Records, a Seattle-based label.[20] The album was self-produced and featured a band of Seattle musicians including Dave Coleman, Paul Farnen, and Ken Cole.[21]

In 1993, Mock released Speed of Light on Blue Orchid Music, performed by a predominantly Seattle-based ensemble: Mock on guitars, Dave Coleman and Mike Bueno on drums, Dan Dean and Chuck Deardorf on bass, and Marc Seales on piano. The album includes the composition "Robben's Bebop Blues" by guitarist Robben Ford.[22]

Later career and death

During the 1980s, Mock continued to perform while commuting between Los Angeles and Seattle. He formed an acoustic duo with guitarist Jamie Findlay, which expanded into a trio with Robben Ford and performed at Jazz Alley in 1985.[1]

In 2004, Mock joined Jay Roberts, son of Howard Roberts, in establishing the Roberts Music Institute in Bellevue, Washington, where he contributed to the curriculum and taught classes in contemporary guitar playing.[1][8] The school later relocated to Snoqualmie following the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Mock and Jay Roberts frequently performed as a duo at Bake's Place in Bellevue; a March 2009 Earshot Jazz preview of one such appearance described Mock as a disciple of Joe Diorio and presented the duo's program as an evening of jazz fusion directed at guitar enthusiasts.[1][23]

In Seattle, Mock led a regular trio at The Mix in the Georgetown neighborhood, with bassist Steve Kim.[1][23]

Mock was also a featured performer at the Ballard Jazz Festival in Seattle, appearing in the festival's Guitar Summit showcase in two editions. In April 2009, he shared the Sunset Tavern stage with John Stowell, Jay Roberts, Corey Christiansen, and Dave Peterson.[24] In April 2011, he returned to the Guitar Summit at Conor Byrne Pub alongside Dan Balmer, Dave Peterson, and Stowell, described in the festival preview as "among the most accomplished guitarists in jazz."[25]

In 2009, Mock was invited by Mike Bloomfield biographer David Dann to create a four-part series of guitar lessons analyzing Bloomfield's technique and approach for the reference website The Essential Mike Bloomfield, reflecting Mock's long-standing admiration for Mike Bloomfield as a formative influence.[26]

Mock died of prostate cancer on April 14, 2025, at age 74.[1][3] Commemorating his death, the Musicians Institute published in December 2025 a previously unreleased archival video of his performance at the school, describing him as one of the first instructors of the original GIT and a formative figure in the institution's approach to guitar education.[27]

Hydroplane racing

Outside of music, Mock was a long-time enthusiast of hydroplane racing. He was a pioneer of 1/8-scale radio-controlled hydroplane racing and participated actively when the American Power Boat Association maintained an R/C racing category.[4] A 2010 Kent Reporter feature profiling Mock described him as a museum board member who had built model boats since childhood and raced radio-controlled hydroplanes for more than twenty years; the article noted that Mock's scale model of the 1982 Atlas Van Lines included details such as a replica of the red helmet worn by driver Chip Hanauer.[28]

Mock served as vice president of the board of directors of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent, Washington, where he had been a volunteer since the museum's founding in 1984.[1][4][29] He produced video content for the museum, including the documentary series The Bill Muncey Story and video presentations shown at the museum's 2009 inaugural induction ceremony for its Unlimited Hydroplane Hall of Champions, honoring Muncey and Hanauer.[1][30]

Mock led the museum's volunteer team in the restoration of two Atlas Van Lines unlimited hydroplane boats.[4][1] The first was the 1982 U-00 Atlas Van Lines — the successor boat built after Bill Muncey's fatal 1981 accident — which had been driven to the 1982 Gold Cup by Chip Hanauer. Working with veteran racers Jim Harvey and Ron Brown, Mock's crew restored the boat to its original 1982 configuration.[31] The second restoration was of the 1977 Atlas Van Lines, known as the "Blue Blaster," which Mock's team brought back to running condition over more than four years of work; the restored boat ran at Seafair in 2014.[29][32]

Mock also played a role in connecting the museum with Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. A 2018 article on the H1 Unlimited website described Mock as a "hydroplane restoration expert" and recounted how Hanauer, Mock, and museum director David Williams facilitated Johnson's contact with the Atlas Van Lines legacy, ultimately leading to Johnson driving the restored Blue Blaster in 2025.[33][34]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u de Barros, Paul (June 2025). "Don Mock (1950–2025)". Earshot Jazz. pp. 3, 17.
  2. ^ a b "Don Mock with GIT students early 1990's". Musicians Institute Digital Library. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  3. ^ a b Peters, Alexa (26 December 2025). "Remembering the jazz veterans we lost in 2025". KNKX. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  4. ^ a b c d Fjarlie, Craig (28 April 2025). "Remembering Three Participants". APBA Historical Society. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Continenza, Gianfranco (August 2013). "Don Mock". Just Jazz Guitar. No. 76. pp. 105–123.
  6. ^ "Howard Roberts". Vintage Guitar. March 2022. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
  7. ^ "1978 Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) Graduation Photo". Musicians Institute Digital Library. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Mock, Don (2009). Don Mock's Jazz Guitar Masterclass. Alfred Music. ISBN 9780739057575.
  9. ^ a b Mock, Don (1977). Artful Arpeggios: Creative Substitution Principles for Improvising. REH Publications / Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation. ISBN 0943686075.
  10. ^ a b Sidwell, Jason (26 September 2025). "Allen Hinds on Jeff Buckley's guitar genius, and his "stupid" question to Jaco Pastorius". Guitar Player. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  11. ^ "Scott Henderson Interview". Jazz Guitar Society. 2012. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  12. ^ "ArtistWorks Music Roundtable Podcast—Episode 2: Keith Wyatt & Don Mock". ArtistWorks Blog. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  13. ^ Charupakorn, Joe (16 June 2016). "Paul Gilbert: Swingin' Carnage Blues". Premier Guitar. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  14. ^ "Frank Gambale – Perfectly Frank". Guitar Interactive Magazine. 2020. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  15. ^ "'Like John McLaughlin': Zakk Wylde Names His Top Underrated Guitar Players — and None of Them Came From Metal". Ultimate Guitar. 1 November 2024. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
  16. ^ "Alfred Music Publications Don Mock's Jazz Guitar Masterclass / The Jazz Guitar Experience". Jazzwise. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  17. ^ "Top 50 Guitar Books". JazzGuitar.be. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  18. ^ Hicks, Pat, ed. (1982). Ten: Ten Top Guitarists Offer Their Insights to Guitar Artistry. Musicians Institute Publications, Inc.
  19. ^ Samad, Az (24 February 2025). "Book Review: Arpeggio Alchemy by Don Mock". Az Samad Lessons. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  20. ^ "Don Mock – Mock One". Discogs. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  21. ^ "Don Mock – Mock One (album details)". JazzRockSoul. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  22. ^ "Don Mock – Speed of Light". Discogs. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  23. ^ a b "Mock & Roberts at Bake's". Earshot Jazz. Vol. 25, no. 3. March 2009. p. 8.
  24. ^ "Preview Ballard Jazz Festival, April 22–26". Earshot Jazz. Vol. 25, no. 4. April 2009. p. 14.
  25. ^ Pincus, Greg (April 2011). "2011 Ballard Jazz Festival, April 20–23". Earshot Jazz. Vol. 27, no. 4. p. 12.
  26. ^ Mock, Don (2009). Dann, David (ed.). "The Essential Mike Bloomfield – Basic Guitar Technique, Lessons 1–4". Michael Bloomfield: An American Guitarist. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  27. ^ "Unearthed from the Archives: Unpublished Don Mock Guitar Performance at Musicians Institute". Musicians Institute. December 2025. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  28. ^ Hunter, Steve (10 February 2010). "Kent's Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum plans model exhibit". Kent Reporter. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
  29. ^ a b Elfalan, Kierra (29 May 2014). "'Blue Blaster': Museum works to restore legendary hydroplane". Auburn Reporter. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
  30. ^ "Hydroplane legends honored at Kent museum". Kent Reporter. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
  31. ^ "1982 U-00 Atlas Van Lines". Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  32. ^ "1977 U-1 Atlas Van Lines". Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
  33. ^ "NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson & H1 Unlimited linked". H1 Unlimited. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
  34. ^ "Jimmie Johnson to Drive Bill Muncey's Atlas Van Lines "Blue Blaster"". Speedway Digest. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

Content Disclaimer

Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.

  1. The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
  2. There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
  3. It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
  4. Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
  5. Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.