Paper Moon began in 2004 as a project intending to blur the lines between popular instrumental guitar styles from around the world. Founded by guitarist Scot Taber and joined by Nashville guitarist Dan Dever – and later by guitarist Joe Amato – the duo began to explore its wide-ranging musical interests by mixing gypsy jazz, Brazilian rhythms, flamenco, classical pieces, and modern grooves. They incorporated elements from these genres into their original compositions and performed established standards in these styles in front of audiences in Los Angeles and San Diego.
The duo recorded and released the original album Miniatures in 2006 and the follow-up CD Little Venices in 2009, featuring all original compositions with the notable exception of an arrangement of one piece by Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega (“Vals – Tema de Strauss” and “Recuerdos de la Alhambra” respectively). With a third album on the way, Paper Moon continues to explore exotic sounds and styles from the across the globe as it composes, records, and brings its music to the public.
Paper Moon has performed at the famous Spreckels Theatre in downtown San Diego, the historic U.S. Grant Hotel, the W Hotel in Hollywood, Ca, the Grand Del Mar resort, and numerous other resorts, clubs, festivals, music venues, and private residences throughout southern California.
Scot Taber
Scot Taber studied classical guitar and flamenco under the acclaimed guitarist Adam Schydlower of Gitano and the Desert Prophets and Stephan Schyga of Tel Arc Records’ celebrated “Jazzmenco” act La Vienta. At seventeen, he joined the Spanish dance company Danzas Españolas, providing guitar accompaniment for flamenco dancers, later joining Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) graduate Arturo Garibay to form the World Beat guitar duo Taber & Garibay. They released the original album “Andromeda” in 1996 and toured extensively throughout the western U.S. and Mexico. In 2000, after playing in Taber & Garibay for over 5 years, Scot released Liminal, a mix of Jazz and World Music, later releasing the CDs Gone in 2002 and Big Perfect in 2005. He currently teaches and performs in the San Diego area.
Joe Amato
Joe Amato has studied a wide range of styles in his twenty year relationship with the guitar, from playing in bands at age 12, to studying at prestigious universities and performing internationally. Studying music composition, classical guitar, and jazz theory at such schools as the University of North Texas, Rice University, and the University of Texas at Austin, Joe received a bachelor’s degree in Classical Guitar Performance at Southwest Texas State University. He has then gone on to acquire an extremely diverse performance experience with years of extensive national touring as guitarist for the rock band Tunji, as jazz guitarist in an 11-piece Big Band Sinatra Revue, and as a soloist at performances in music festivals in Mexico, Rome, and Paris.