Michael Gulezian

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Michael Gulezian

Michael Gulezian (* 1957 in Newark , New Jersey ) is an American fingerstyle guitarist.

Life

Michael Gulezian's parents were Armenian immigrants. His mother had a degree from the Academy of Fashion Design in Paris , his father was a musicologist specializing in Egyptian music and published photographs in which record label Lyrichord Records.

Gulezian started playing guitar when he was six. He never had guitar lessons, but learned to play the classical guitar thoroughly. His mother sang Armenian folk songs, his father played oud . Thus, during his childhood and youth, Gulezian was exposed to Middle Eastern and Armenian musical traditions, classical Indian and Chinese music and improvised ragas, as well as western music such as rock , jazz and Gregorian music . In 1965 the family moved to Tucson , Arizona .

As a young guitarist he was impressed by early Mississippi Delta fingerstyle guitarists such as John Hurt , Bukka White , Blind Blake , Son House , Reverend Gary Davis and Robert Johnson . He later discovered the music of John Fahey , Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges and broadened his musical horizons by listening to Keith Jarrett , John McLaughlin , Ravi Shankar and Sun Ra .

Gulezian attended Holy Cross Abbey High School in Colorado . He read Joseph Campbell , Carl Gustav Jung , and James Joyce , which greatly influenced his perception of music and language. While he was still in high school, the American guitarist Robbie Basho , for whom he played one of his own pieces at a concert, made contact with John Fahey. Fahey gave Gulezian a contract with his record label Takoma Records . After hearing Gulezian's self-produced debut album Snow in 1979 , he wanted to release it on his own label. With a few changes, it was published in 1980 under the name Unspoken Intentions and received good reviews, as the American guitarist Michael Hedges named it as an important model. The Takoma label went bankrupt in 1985 and Gulezian was disillusioned with the music industry. He began studying business science and marketing at the University of Arizona and graduated in 1987 with academic honors.

After graduating, he turned back to music, founded the indie label Timbreline Music and released his third album Distant Memories & Dreams in 1992 . He began touring again and released his fourth album The Dare of an Angel in 1994 . In 1997 Gulezian moved to Nashville , Tennessee . In 2002 his Takoma album Unspoken Intentions was released in a new edition. His fifth CD Language of the Flame was released in 2003 and nominated for a Grammy Award , followed in 2005 by his also Grammy-nominated live album Concert at St. Olaf College .

Gulezian travels a lot in the US and gives guitar workshops , but he mainly focuses on concerts and gigs. Michael Gulezian is married and lives again in Tucson, Arizona.

Discography

  • Snow (1979, Aardvark Records)
  • Unspoken Intentions (1980, Takoma / Fantasy)
  • Distant Memories and Dreams (1990, Timbreline Music)
  • The Dare Of An Angel (1994, Timbreline Music)
  • Language of the Flame (2003, Timbreline Music)
  • Concert at St. Olaf College (2005, Timbreline Music)

Collaborations, compilations

  • Revenge of Blind Joe Death: The John Fahey Tribute Album (2006, Fantasy Records)
  • Lights Out 9 (2004, KINK FM 102 / Boyd Coffee Company)
  • 156 Strings: Nineteen Totally Original Acoustic Guitarists (2002, Cuneiform )
  • Takoma Eclectic Vol. 2 (1998, Takoma Records)
  • Takoma Slide (1999, Takoma Records)
  • Bridges 9 (2003, Pennsylvania Public Radio Associates)
  • The KUMD Sessions: Live from the Music Room # 2 (2003, KUMD)
  • Lights Out 5 (1995, KINK FM 102)
  • Lágrimas de arpa y luna (1996, Resistencia)

Books, sheet music

  • Ian and Nisa . Single transcription (2004, Stropes Editions)
  • Between the Strings - The Secret Lives of Guitars (2004, Mel Bay Publications)

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ a b About Michael . A brief introduction to Michael Gulezian on his website. Retrieved December 23, 2007.
  2. ↑ a b c Michael Gulezian: Full Biography . Michael Gulezian's biography on his website (en.) Retrieved December 23, 2007.
  3. ^ A b Artist Biography - Michael Gulezian , by Alex Henderson. All Music Guide (en.) Retrieved December 23, 2007.
  4. ↑ Technique and Emotion - Guitar Master Michael Gulezian Comes to Cornell. Article in Cornell Daily Sun , Thursday April 8, 2004 (en.) Retrieved December 23, 2007.
  5. ↑ a b Guitarist returns to Arizona with newfound fame. Article in The Arizona Republic , Sunday August 22, 2004 (en.) Retrieved December 23, 2007.
  6. ↑ http://entrepreneurship.eller.arizona.edu/alumni/profiles/mgulezian.aspx ( Memento from September 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Gulezian, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fingerstyle guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Newark , New Jersey