Talented teen jazz guitarist makes his mark on the Rochester Jazz Festival

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — We are six days into the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival and we’ve have seen some amazing talent.

Well if you like jazz, you’ll like this talented kid who’s caught the eye of many festival goers and other musicians.

Charlie Debski has been playing the jazz guitar for eight years.

And for him — that’s most of his life.

“When I was little I had an interest in music and I had an interest in this little guitar we had,” said Charlie. “Then my dad signed me up for lessons and he never let me quit.”

Charlie’s parents have and are continuing to push him to be the best he can be.

A quick internet search is what brought Charlie and his father to the Jazz Festival from Chicago.

“It’s been amazing cause I’ve been learning a lot. I’ve been meeting so many new people that are teaching me so many new things. And overall many new experiences,” Charlie said.

In his week long visit, Charlie has already made a name for himself.

“He plays with such enthusiasm and concentration. When he played last night there was an interesting interaction between him and other musicians on stage because he’s been around now. He’s part of this year’s Jazz Fest,” Jazz lover Mary Myers said.

So far, Charlie has attended two jam sessions.

These are late at night where anyone can sign up to play some jazz and improv for an audience.

And he’s left quite the mark.

“I think it feels pretty weird because I’ve never had people recognize me before. There’s been a couple people walking down the street that ask me if I’m Charlie from the Jam Session. That happened a couple times and I thought that was really interesting,” Charlie said.

Charlie is heading back to Chicago tomorrow but he says he would love to come back to learn and play next year.