Jeffrey Briggs

Jeffrey Briggs is a classical and flamenco guitarist, and also plays Latin American music on the guitar, the Venezuelan cuatro, and the Andean charango. He has studied with Spanish flamenco guitarist Juan Serrano, Nubian oud player Hamza el Din, and Argentinian charango virtuoso Jaime Torres.

He played guitar in the critically acclaimed musical Twist of Fate at the Tiffany Theatre in Los Angeles and composed and performed music for The Bullfight, a play by Venezuelan writer Rodolfo Santana at the Stages Theatre Center in Hollywood in 2000. Briggs is also an independent video producer, writer, photographer, and graphic artist. Born in Ithaca, N.Y., he has a BA in anthropology from Cornell University, an MA in anthropology from the University of Michigan, and an MFA in film from Ohio University; and has taught photography at Cornell University, film production at Denison University, and television production at Capital University. He was photography critic for the Columbus Dispatch for 7 years. He has taught guitar for the City of Claremont as well as giving private lessons.

El Charanguero, his video documentary about Argentinian musician Jaime Torres, has aired on PBS stations throughout the United States, and is being distributed internationally. Before coming to Los Angeles in 1995 Briggs was leader of the Latin American band Sangría, which performed throughout the Midwest. He has also accompanied a number of flamenco dancers and dance classes.