"A rising acoustic guitarist" - TIMEOUT Singapore"This is one guy who can finger-pick, hold massive grape fruit-sized chords and make his guitar gently weep with the best." - KLue Magazine
"..Az Samad produces works that are richly textured, poetic and atmospheric." - The New Straits Times
Currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area, guitarist-composer Az Samad's music has taken him to festivals and venues in the United States, Austria, United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia. Az has performed/recorded with Grammy winners Flaco Jimanez and Max Baca; singer-songwriter Tara Linda; guitarists Matthew Montfort, John Stowell, Stuart Ryan, Teja Gerken, Rick Vandivier, and Hristo Vitchev; world music ensemble Bogofusion; electronic jazz-funk group Planet Loop; and string jazz ensemble JazzMine. "A prodigy with the steel-string and nylon-string guitars" (Faces Magazine), Az is constantly in demand with his diverse musical skills in Jazz, contemporary acoustic fingerstyle guitar and classical guitar leading to performances from intimate solo guitar shows to outdoor festival stages and classical orchestra concerts.
As an educator, Az has been on faculty for Berklee College of Music's Summer Guitar Sessions since 2007. Az was also the co-teacher for the Guitar Fundamentals class, and teaching assistant for Jazz Improvisation class at San Jose State University (SJSU), San Jose, CA. In addition to his musical outreach work at SF Bay Area schools with Sonart Group, Az has taught workshops at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT; Culturefest in Pipestem, WV; International College of Music, and Malaysian Institute of Art in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Az is an endorsed artist of William Jeffrey Jones Guitars and alpha product tester for Keith McMillen Instruments.
Az Samad received his MA in Music (Jazz Studies) from San Jose State University, BM in Jazz Composition and Performance (Summa Cum Laude) from Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA, and BMus in Arranging from University of Westminster, United Kingdom. Az has studied guitar with Eric Roche (UK), Thomas Leeb (Austria/LA), Don Ross (Canada), Mick Goodrick (Gary Burton Group), David Tronzo, John Stowell, Jimmy Wyble, Ben Monder (Maria Schneider Orchestra) and Bryan Baker (Steps Ahead). Az has participated in classical guitar master classes with Mark Teicholz and Muriel Anderson; as well as taken private lessons with Steven Lin, Patrick Francis, Grisha Goryachev, Scott Tennant, Willliam Kanengiser, Gyan Riley, and Ron Burczon.
Current Projects and Gigs:
Az Samad : solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar originals
Az Samad Duo: jazz/world duo w/ Carrie Jahde and Eli Harrison (rotating lineup)
Duo Brasileira: brazilian/jazz guitar-vocal duo w/ Kiyoe Wakabayashi
Tara Linda: Tortilla Western originals
Jazz Mine: gypsy jazz string ensemble
For more info, log on to: www.sonicbids.com/azsamad
Watch Videos at : www.youtube.com/azsamad
Follow Az on Twitter/Facebook: azsamad
Contact Az at: talktoazsamad at yahoo dot com or via the contact form.
Awards:
2008 - San Jose State University Graduate Program Scholarship Recipient
2007 - Sonicbids Spotlight Artist (December 2007)
2007 - "Berjalan Bersamamu" received an honorable mention in the 11th Unisong International Songwriting Contest for the "Instrumental (any style)" category.
2005 - Berklee College Of Music World Scholarship Tour Recipient
2003 - Nominated for Best Solo Performance(Music) in the first Cameronian Arts Award, a prestigious event for the arts community in Malaysia.
Az has performed at:
Malaysia :
Venues:
No Black Tie
Istana Budaya
Avanti's
Alexis Bar and Bistro
La Bodega
Le Bernardin
Bangkok Jazz
Paul's Place
Backyard Pub
Laundry Bar
KL JamAsia
Fasta Pasta
Starbucks KLue Acoustic Series
Borders Books
MPH Bookstores, Midvalley Megamall
The Palace Of The Golden Horses
Mandarin Oriental
Equatorial Hotel
Hotel Istana
Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC)
The Actor's Studio Dataran Merdeka
The Actor's Studio Box
Auditorium DBKL
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
MATIC
Universiti Malaya
Universiti Institut Teknologi Mara
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
International College Of Music
UCSI Recital Hall, Sedaya College
Monash University
PRIME College
Commonwealth Club Malaysia
Central Market
Taman Budaya Ipoh
Plaza Putra, Dataran Merdeka
Kelab Darul Ehsan
Dataran Shah Alam
Karnival Sure Heboh TV3, Stadium Bukit Jalil
Times Square Shopping Mall
Sunway Pyramid
Bangsar Shopping Centre
Festivals :
As part of Shelley Leong and Jazz Odyssey:
Penang Island Jazz Festival 2004
Sunrise Jazz and Rhythm Festival 2005 & 2006
Heineken Octoberfest
KL Sing Song 2006 Festival
As Dalcha Duo (acoustic guitar duo project with Hardesh Singh)
Fete De La Musique Festival 2003
As a solo act:
Singapore Writers Festival 2007
Yogyakarta Quake Aid 2006
Fete De La Musique Festival 2004
17th National Malaysian Poetry Day 2007
Jairus Anthony Music Festival 2004
Unplugged at Paulies 2003
Singapore:
The Singapore Art Museum
Esplanade Outdoor Theatre Stage
The Arts House @ Old Parliament
Home Bar
UK:
Newton Ferrers Yacht Club
US:
New York City:
Stain Bar NY
Caffe Vivaldi
Boston:
Swiss Human Rights Exhibition @ Logan Airport
Marriot Copley
Berklee Performance Center
Lawrence Berk Recital Hall
MIT
La Luna Caffe, Cambridge
The Paulist Center
Club Passim (open mic)
All Asia Bar (open mic)
Fire and Ice Boston (open mic)
San Francisco:
Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Public Library
Caffe Trieste (San Francisco and Berkeley,CA)
Coffee Adventures
Palace Hotel
The Cannery
Nomad Cafe
Bazaar Cafe
Beale Street Bar and Grill
Blondie's Bar and No Grill
King Tsin Restaurant
Anna's Jazz Island
Brainwash
Rooz Cafe
Sea Mi Restaurant
Red Rock Coffee
The Uptown, Oakland
Grant and Green
West Virginia:
Appalachian South Folk Life Center
Festivals:
As a solo act:
Culturefest 2007, Pipestem, West Virginia
As Az & The Jazz Strings:
MIT Nightmarket 2007
Az has taught at:
Berklee College Of Music (Berklee Summer Guitar Sessions 2007)
The North Beach Teen Program Guitar Classes @ Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center
Az has conducted guitar workshops at:
International College Of Music, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Guitar Collection Subang Jaya, Malaysia
Music Hut, Damansara Perdana, Malaysia
Kl SingSong Festival 2006
TV/Radio/Media appearances/interviews/performances:
France:
'The C Factor' chosen to be on continual airplay on 100% Music Radio Station (Avrille, France)
US:
Pen Women Presents Show - Channel 29 SF Access (San Francisco, CA)
PIXY 103 - Homegrown Radio Show (Cape Cod,MA)
mvyradio Local MusiCafe (Martha's Vinyard, MA)
Celtic Folk Podcast (Georgetown, KY)
Upbeat Radio Podcast (Georgetown, KY)
Pongid Radio (Second Life)
WJFN Showcase Internet Radio Show (Long Island, NY)
Junior's Cave Online Magazine Spotlight (Brunswick,GA)
Damn Good Tunes Online Magazine Feature (Rochester,WA)
Seattle PI newspaper website (Seattle, WA)
Malaysia:
RTM1
RTM2
TV3
NTV7
8TV
Astro
TraxxFM
Red104.9
Channel V
X-Fresh Radio
Singapore:
Suria Segar TV Show
Mr. Brown Podcast Show (interview and performance with Shelley Leong)
For Performance videos:
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=azsamad
Official MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/azsamad
Instrumentation
Solo shows-
Az Samad - solo acoustic guitar
Duo shows-
Az Samad- acoustic guitars (steel string and nylon string guitar)
Shelley Leong - voice, keyboard, guitar and percussions (hand drum, ocean drum, shaker, misc. hand percussion)
Az & The Jazz Strings (Trio and Quartet Shows)
Az Samad - guitar
Michael Borgida - guitar
Helen Sherrah-Davies - violin, electric violin
Shelley Leong - cello and percussions (hand drum, ocean drum, shaker, misc. hand percussion)
Discography
Acoustic Gestures is available for purchase on:
www.cdbaby.com/azsamad
iTunes
EMusic
Groupie Tunes
Great Indie Music
PayPlay.fm
Real Rhapsody
Napster
and all major online retailers.
The Snow and Ice EP is available on Az's Snocap store on his myspace page : www.myspace.com/azsamad
2007- Snow and Ice EP (exclusive online-only release)
2007- Ciplak - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2006- Panic In The Peninsula (compilation album)
2004- Acoustic Gestures (debut solo guitar album)
2003- ICOM :Feel The Buzz (compilation album)
2003- Echoes Of Bangsar (limited printing self-produced EP)
2002- B'Yu (Universal Music/Synchrosound Music) (as lyricist)
Songs licensed for use in:
2007- Teaser Trailer for "London Calling", a indie movie by Anugerah Skrin Award Winner Kharil M. Bahar
2007- The Bedroom Musicians Series Promotional Video
2005- Video CD of Malaysian National Laurete A Samad Said - "A Samad Said - Kehidupan Seorang Seniman Malaysia"
Original Music for children's musical:
2003- Di Mana Singa (Where is the Lion) directed by Ladin Nuawi
Original Theme Song for:
2004 - Monolog Memori Di Hadapan Pulau directed by SN Datuk Dr. A Samad Said
Links
http://www.azsamad.com
