Margaret Slovak is a guitarist, composer and painter. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, she began playing the guitar at age 11 and composing at age 14. Margaret studied jazz and classical music and visual art, receiving her BFA in Music from the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington. Her teachers included guitarists John Abercrombie, Dale Bruning and Ralph Towner; she also had the opportunity to study composition with trumpeter Kenny Wheeler at the Banff Centre Summer Jazz Workshop in Alberta, Canada.
Margaret has performed throughout the US, as well as in Canada, Germany and the Czech Republic. She moved to Austin in 2012 from New York, where she lived from 1988-1993 and again from 2008-2012. While in NYC, Margaret had the opportunity to perform and record with pianists Fred Hersch and Joel Weiskopf, bassists Michael Formanek and Harvie S and drummer Michael Sarin. While living in Portland, Oregon, she toured the Pacific NW and Canada with her quartet, which included legendary drummer Ra Kalem Bob Moses.
In addition to her public performances, Margaret plays for patients in chemotherapy infusion centers, hospitals and hospice; she also performed for wounded combat veterans at the Bronx VA Hospital in NYC from 2009-2012. Margaret is also a painter, creating visual images which reflect her musical compositions; her artwork appears on her CD packages.
Margaret has released 4 CDs featuring her original music. Her 2022 CD, Ballad for Brad, highlights her New York trio with Margaret on guitar, Harvie S on bass and Michael Sarin on drums. Ballad for Brad was listed as one of the Top 10 Albums of 2022 by Michael Toland of the Austin Chronicle, as well as one of the Top 100 CDs of 2022 by Bill Milkowski of JAZZIZ Magazine. A Star’s Light Does Fall, a Christmas/Winter Solstice album with bassist Chris Maresh, is her 5th release. Margaret’s albums have received national and international airplay, and her music has been used in several documentary films. Margaret is also included in Scott Yanow’s 2013 bookThe Great Jazz Guitarists: The Ultimate Guide.