Ava Mendoza

American experimental rock, jazz and improvisation guitarist Ava Mendoza was born in Miami on June 18, 1983. She grew up in Southern California, then in Michigan, where she studied classical guitar at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She began improvising in rock bands and returned to California to continue her studies at Mills College in Oakland, where Fred Frith taught. Graduating in 2006, the guitarist performed in the San Francisco Bay Area and recorded her first solo album, Shadow Stories (2010). She formed the band Unatural Ways for two albums with drummer/percussionist Nick Tamburro and QUOK, a trio with Weasel Walter and Tim Dahl. Several collaborative albums follow until New Spells (2021), followed by Echolocation, under the name Mendoza Hoff Revels with Devra Hoff (2023), Of It But Not Is It with Dave Sewelson (2024), The Circular Train (2024) and Mama Killa, with Gabby Fluke-Mogul and Carolina Perez (2025).

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