John Gilliat
Bio
"The
style is called Nouveau Flamenco and Langley acoustic
guitarist John Gilliat is blazingly good at it. Light
a candle,
pour some camomile and don't wonder how he
moves his hands so fast or you'll just stress."
John
P. McLaughlin, The Province Newspaper
When
John Gilliat holds his acoustic guitar he holds technique
and emotion in melodic balance and holds his audience
in the palm of his hand.
He didn't come by his gift overnight of course. The
Canadian-born musician picked up the guitar when he
was just 9 years old. By the time he had graduated from
High School, he was ready to take the show on the road,
touring across Canada and the United States with various
pop groups playing venues such as Harrah's in Lake Tahoe
and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
After several years touring North America John took
the time to formally study his art. He took private
lessons with various teachers and later majored in jazz
at Capilano College, where he received a scholarship
and graduated with top honours. In the guitar, John
had found his instrument but he was still searching
for his muse.
At age 26 he immersed himself in Flamenco guitar tradition,
inspired by the teaching methods of Juan Martin and
listening to the incredible sounds of Paco de Lucia,
Paco Pena, Sabicas and many others. John spent the next
6 years studying Flamenco, practicing 8 to 10 hours
a day. The effort would pay off and the accolades would
follow. In 1995, John won "Best Acoustic Guitar
Performance" in the Music West Star Frets Competition.
He won Vancouver's Unplugged Competition in 1996 and,
in 1997 he became a finalist in Vancouver's Global Star
Quest.
Like all great performers, John feeds off the energy
of a live audience. The stage is where his heart soars
and his music flows. As a 'guitar for hire', John would
find his way onto the stage, performing for the Vancouver
Playhouse, Michael Barabas, Radio Europe, Alyssa Nielsen,
Gypsalero and opening for such notable artists as Cirque
du Soleil, Mae Moore and acoustic guitar masters, Strunz
and Farah.
Practice makes perfect and passion makes magic.
In May of 1999 John released his own independent instrumental
CD titled "Freedom". A showcase for his considerable
guitar talents, Freedom embraced world beat musical
elements of flamenco, Latin and Jazz. Above all, Freedom
was recorded with the hope to share the peace, joy and
excitement John feels when performing for audiences
around the globe.
In 2002 John released his second CD called "Peace".
Picking right up where Freedom left off, Peace forges
further still down the path John has carved out for
his music. Passionate and fiery flamenco guitars and
beautiful melodies intertwine with exotic percussion,
bass and drums. The 2002 West Coast Music Awards nominated
Peace as "Best Instrumental Release - Non Classical".
In 2003 John released his 3rd CD titled Christmas, A
wonderful collection of holiday classics played on flamenco
guitars, accompanied by bass and percussion.
The corporate world has embraced John's music as well,
through recent performances for prestigious clients
like MasterCard, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Verizon, Lehman
Brothers, Sun America. He's also had the distinction
of playing for Canada's Head of State, Prime Minister,
Jean Chretien.
Over 10,000 copies of John's albums have been sold to
date.
John
Gilliat continues to offer new direction and contemporary
expression to Flamenco, Nouveau Flamenco and Flamenco
Rumba, touring festivals and headlining concerts with
his quartet (bass, 2 guitars, and percussion). He even
finds time to perform regularly with Vancouver's hot
gypsy jazz club quartet, "Gypsalero".
Now following three successful Japanese tours, including
the first-ever concert on an open-air train and performing
live on NHK Radio along with various other Japanese
radio and television programs. John has released his
latest CD in Japan titled "Beyond Boundaries".
The new CD continues to offer new direction and contemporary
expression to Nouveau Flamenco, Flamenco Rumba and Jazz.
Included in Beyond Boundaries is a very special composition
titled "Onishi", created from the beautiful
images, sounds and excitement John experienced during
his performances at Fujiyama Koen Park in Onishi Cho,
Japan.
Visit
John's Website
