Trefor Owen was born in the village of Gwalchmai, Anglesey. (Anglesey is an island off the Northern tip of Wales). Trefor, who is a Welsh speaker, is one of Britain’s finest jazz guitarists and a familiar figure on the U.S. Jazz guitar scene. His CD Wales Plays Brazil has won widespread critical acclaim and was featured regularly on Jazz FM. Trefor has toured the U.K. extensively and performed in the U.S.A with many American musicians and has appeared with many European and British musicians. He has made several appearances at the New York Guitar Show, Long Island, the NAMM Show, Anaheim, California and in Europe.

Trefor Owen is one of the foremost jazz and improvisation teachers in the U.K. He has over 40 year’s experience teaching at the highest level both in Britain and the USA. For eight of those years, he was an associate lecturer at Leeds College of Music. Also, for twenty-five years he was a visiting lecturer at Liverpool Community College. For five years he taught at Wigan and Leigh College. To quote one student “Your unique approach to teaching the rigours of facility building through applied practice is groundbreaking”.

Trefor has also considerable experience in tutoring clinics and workshops. Among the many he has conducted are celebrity workshops at Cork International Jazz Festival, London’s Guitar Institute, the Zinc Bar, New York, New York Guitar Show, Long Island and the Chet Atkins Convention in Nashville.

For eight years, between 2000 and 2008, he led a team of international guitarists performing and tutoring at the North Wales International Jazz Guitar Festival and Summer School, the biggest jazz guitar event in the world, where his teaching won annual applause, and is currently resident tutor and organiser at the highly renowned annual Wrexham Jazz Guitar Weekends.