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MICHAEL GULEZIAN - BIOGRAPHY:
Boundary-free, horizon-expanding, kickass, genre-bending, transcendent, soulful, mind-opening, exquisitely gorgeous instrumental solo acoustic guitar. If you’ve never heard of Michael Gulezian (gu-LAY-ze-in), you’re in for a very pleasant surprise. Michael is a phenomenal technical guitarist with the rare ability to transcend his own virtuosity, creating music that touches and moves people at the deepest level. He's been called the musical link between John Fahey and Michael Hedges. Artists as diverse as Willy Porter, Michael Hedges, and Henry Kaiser have claimed him as a primary musical influence; young lions such as Erik Mongrain and Andy McKee are quick to acknowledge him as an inspiration. For those who follow solo acoustic instrumental guitar, Michael Gulezian is firmly established in the genre as one of the most significant artists of our time.
And what a time it is – contemporary instrumental music is under unprecedented commercial pressure; hype and marketing dollars supercede talent, and image is often mistaken for the message. By contrast, Michael Gulezian personifies a higher standard, where extraordinary talent and unadulterated artistry are the only meaningful measures of relevance.
Michael is the youngest artist ever to be signed to John Fahey’s legendary Takoma Records, arguably the most influential record label in the solo instrumental acoustic genre. Michael is a touring machine, playing hundreds of concerts the last few years alone, along with guitar workshops and master classes. Fiercely independent, Michael retains no agent, no publicist, and no manager; he rejects the notion that artists (or audiences) need any "support" from multinational corporate record labels. Michael categorically refuses to accept any musical product endorsements. He is a rarity – an artist confident enough in his work to let the music speak entirely for itself.
Michael is currently celebrating his first twenty five years as composer / recording / performing artist with his first ever live concert release, Concert at St. Olaf College. For more than two decades, Michael has unpretentiously walked onstage and delivered one riveting performance after another. Concert at St. Olaf College fully displays the intensity, nuance, and emotion of a master musician lovingly engaged with his audience in the mystery of self-revelation, creating music of understated virtuosity, atmospheric power, ecstatic joy, and haunting beauty.
The reviews of Michael’s music speak volumes: "unbelievable ... incredible ... music from another planet." -Jazziz Magazine; "One of the most dazzling solo acoustic guitarists in the world today ... to see Gulezian alone on stage with his guitar is to watch a master at work. -Santa Cruz Sentinel; "Michael Gulezian composes, arranges, and performs some of the most complex and emotional music ever written for solo acoustic guitar." -Grammy award winning producer Richard Adler (Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck); "Gulezian rips ... but for all his virtuosic ferocity, Michael never loses sight of the melody, or the drama of his compositions." -Acoustic Guitar Magazine. "Such a degree of emotional power and intensity ... [you] forget that this is a reality expressed by only one guitar." -Psychedelic Folk.com; "Gulezian’s place [is] among the great acoustic guitar innovators of the 20th Century." -Music Web Express.
For all the airplay, accolades, recognition, and encores, Michael remains most touched and humbled by the words of his late friend and colleague Michael Hedges, who called Gulezian "a great guitarist. My kindred spirit."
Please click here to read Michael Gulezian's full biography.
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