About John Lawlor

“John Lawlor is the greatest jazz tenor guitar virtuoso past or present. He creates difficult movements on four strings that only a rare genius could hear… He has the mind of a great composer and the rhythm, heart and soul of a great musician.” 

- Mark Josephs, Tenor Guitar Foundation founder

John Lawlor learned to play the banjo by ear, and played with the Philadelphia Mummers String Band when he was only 12 years old. 

John was a member of the Chris Sooy Swing Band, which was chosen best band in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1979. 

As a member of the Showboat Casino Band, they were chosen best Dixieland band in the tri-state area by Philadelphia Magazine in 1996.  Chris Sooy said, “It probably wouldn’t have happened without John.”   John switched to the four string tenor guitar for the prettier sound, and has played the tenor guitar for 50 years.

John is a musician’s musician, whose innovative arrangements of jazz and swing, and beautiful chord melodies got him inducted into the Tenor Guitar Hall of Fame in 2016.