Personal guitar coaching centered on rhythm, flow, and developing trust in your own musical process.
Thoughtfully designed print, audio, and video tools to support focused, effective practice.
Weekly jams, performances, and swing guitar camp that bring musicians together through shared time and music.
SWING GUITAR CAMP
Join us in Olde Town Arvada for three days of music, learning, and community at the Rocky Mountain Swing Guitar Camp. Dedicated to the art of swing guitar, the camp brings together players from across the musical spectrum to explore rhythm, improvisation, ensemble playing, and the traditions that continue to shape this vibrant style. Whether you're discovering swing guitar for the first time or looking to deepen your musicianship, you'll find an inspiring weekend of workshops, concerts, jam sessions, and meaningful musical connections.
The fourth Rocky Mountain Swing Guitar Camp features performances and instruction from Michael Isabell, Lisa Liu, Greg Ruby, and special guests to be announced. Throughout the weekend, participants will learn from experienced artists, connect with fellow players, and immerse themselves in an environment where curiosity, collaboration, and great music take center stage.
Hosted at Silver Vines Winery in the heart of Olde Town Arvada, the Rocky Mountain Swing Guitar Camp offers an intimate setting where learning extends beyond the classroom, conversations continue between sessions, and every evening ends with live music and shared inspiration.
Learn - Listen - Swing
Hot Club of Olde Town is a Colorado-based swing ensemble specializing in the music of Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli, and the rich tradition of gypsy jazz. Available for concerts, festivals, weddings, private events, and swing dances, the group delivers authentic acoustic swing with energy, elegance, and a spirit of collaboration.
Beyond the stage, the ensemble serves as the musical home of one of Colorado's longest-running weekly swing jams, hosted by Michael Isabell at Silver Vines Winery in Olde Town Arvada. The jam has become a gathering place for musicians, dancers, and listeners alike, fostering a thriving community built around great music, shared experiences, and the joy of making music together.
GUITAR AS A MIRROR
Reflections on Learning, Practice, and Play
Guitar as a Mirror is a living body of work exploring what learning an instrument can reveal about attention, frustration, discipline, listening, patience, trust, and the way we respond when progress does not come easily.
Drawing on more than a decade of teaching, performing, and learning alongside students, Michael Isabell approaches the guitar not simply as an instrument to master, but as a place to notice what happens while we are trying to learn. Through essays, observations, stories, and experiments at the instrument, the work explores the habits and assumptions we bring to practice, along with what can change when we become more aware of them.
Whether you are finding your footing or have been playing for years, Guitar as a Mirror invites you to become curious about the process itself: how we listen, how we respond to difficulty and uncertainty, where our attention goes, and how readily the things we know about music become something we can actually embody. Rather than focusing only on how quickly we can improve, the work asks a different question: How deeply are you willing to pay attention?
At its heart, Guitar as a Mirror is an invitation to look again at the instrument, the music, the way you practice, and occasionally the person doing the practicing. What begins as an exploration of rhythm, listening, attention, and learning gradually reveals something larger, because learning guitar is never only about learning guitar.
COMING 2026
