Lawson Rollins
Encyclopedia
Lawson Rollins is an American guitarist and composer from North Carolina
noted for his lightning-fast speed solos, virtuoso fingerstyle technique, and melodic compositional skills featured in his recordings. His music spans a wide range of genres but is generally classed as Latin Jazz
and World Music
, with elements of Samba
, Bossanova
, Middle Eastern music
, Classical guitar
, Flamenco
and Shred guitar
added to the mix.
He is best known for his compositions The Fire Cadenza, Santa Ana Wind and Moonlight Samba and his albums Infinita and Espirito
which were both critically acclaimed by the jazz community. He has reached a wide audience on both radio and the internet. Video performances of The Fire Cadenza and Santa Ana Wind have been viewed millions of times on Youtube
. His songs Moonlight Samba, Infinita, and Havana Heat have proven popular on jazz radio stations and landed on the Billboard
radio charts.
Influenced by Andres Segovia
from his mid-teens, he developed an interest in Jazz
, Flamenco
, and improvisational Latin and Brazilian guitar styles in his early twenties. After graduating from Duke University
he earned a graduate degree from the London School of Economics
, then moved to Washington, D.C.
in 1998 where he met guitarist Daniel Young (Dan Young) at a local flamenco shop and formed the Latin guitar fusion group Young & Rollins
. They released several albums together, including Salsa Flamenca, which landed on the Billboard Chart in 2000, Sevilla (2001), Esperanza (2005) and Mosaic (2006) and played at many major venues such as the Kennedy Center and Sydney Opera House
. Rollins was based in Washington until 2007 when he moved to San Francisco.
His three solo albums Infinita, Espirito
, and Elevation, are characterized by an eclectic mix of Middle Eastern, Brazilian, and Arabic music fused with Spanish guitar and backed by an all-star cast of musicians from around the world including Brazilian singer Flora Purim
, percussionist Airto Moreira
, Cuban drummer Horacio Hernandez
, Shahin Shahida of Shahin and Sepehr
, Iranian kamancheh player Kayhan Kalhor
, Grammy-winning violinist Charlie Bisharat
, and electric guitarist Buckethead
, among others.
As part of Young & Rollins
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
noted for his lightning-fast speed solos, virtuoso fingerstyle technique, and melodic compositional skills featured in his recordings. His music spans a wide range of genres but is generally classed as Latin Jazz
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...
and World Music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, with elements of Samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
, Bossanova
Bossanova
Bossanova is the third album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in August 1990 on the English independent record label 4AD in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. All of Bossanovas original material was written by the band's frontman Black Francis; it...
, Middle Eastern music
Middle Eastern music
The music of Western Asia and North Africa spans across a vast region, from Morocco to Afghanistan, and its influences can be felt even further afield. Middle Eastern music influenced the music of India, as well as Central Asia, Spain, Southern Italy, the Caucasus and the Balkans, as in chalga...
, Classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
, Flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
and Shred guitar
Shred guitar
Shred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...
added to the mix.
He is best known for his compositions The Fire Cadenza, Santa Ana Wind and Moonlight Samba and his albums Infinita and Espirito
Espirito
Espirito is the second album by Lawson Rollins. Rollins composed all of the music and co-produced the album with Persian-American musician and producer Shahin Shahida and multi-platinum producer Dominic Camardella...
which were both critically acclaimed by the jazz community. He has reached a wide audience on both radio and the internet. Video performances of The Fire Cadenza and Santa Ana Wind have been viewed millions of times on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. His songs Moonlight Samba, Infinita, and Havana Heat have proven popular on jazz radio stations and landed on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
radio charts.
Influenced by Andres Segovia
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...
from his mid-teens, he developed an interest in Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, Flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, and improvisational Latin and Brazilian guitar styles in his early twenties. After graduating from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
he earned a graduate degree from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, then moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1998 where he met guitarist Daniel Young (Dan Young) at a local flamenco shop and formed the Latin guitar fusion group Young & Rollins
Young & Rollins
Young & Rollins is a guitar duo, consisting of Daniel Young and Lawson Rollins, that performs and records original music which draws upon an eclectic mixture of salsa music, Latin jazz, blues, samba, bossa nova, flamenco, and classical styles. Their music can be broadly described as a melding of...
. They released several albums together, including Salsa Flamenca, which landed on the Billboard Chart in 2000, Sevilla (2001), Esperanza (2005) and Mosaic (2006) and played at many major venues such as the Kennedy Center and Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
. Rollins was based in Washington until 2007 when he moved to San Francisco.
His three solo albums Infinita, Espirito
Espirito
Espirito is the second album by Lawson Rollins. Rollins composed all of the music and co-produced the album with Persian-American musician and producer Shahin Shahida and multi-platinum producer Dominic Camardella...
, and Elevation, are characterized by an eclectic mix of Middle Eastern, Brazilian, and Arabic music fused with Spanish guitar and backed by an all-star cast of musicians from around the world including Brazilian singer Flora Purim
Flora Purim
Flora Purim is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Chick Corea's landmark album Return to Forever...
, percussionist Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. Airto is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. He currently resides in Los Angeles.-Biography:...
, Cuban drummer Horacio Hernandez
Horacio Hernandez
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez is a renowned Cuban drummer and percussionist."El Negro" is a gifted musician who represents a new generation of great players following in the footsteps of countrymen Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D'Rivera, Ignacio Berroa, and others. Hernandez plays on the cutting edge of...
, Shahin Shahida of Shahin and Sepehr
Shahin and Sepehr
Shahin and Sepehr are an Iranian-American guitarist duo.Their music is mainly composed of Spanish guitar melodies fused with components of soft rock, flamenco, jazz, new age, and influences of traditional music of Iran. Their influences also include artists such as Cat Stevens among others.The...
, Iranian kamancheh player Kayhan Kalhor
Kayhan Kalhor
Kayhan Kalhor , born 24 November 1963, is an Iranian kamancheh player, composer and master of classical Kurdish and Persian music.-Youth and studies:...
, Grammy-winning violinist Charlie Bisharat
Charlie Bisharat
Charlie Bisharat is a Grammy-winning violinistwho has extensively toured and/or recorded with numerous artists. He was a member of Shadowfax who won a Grammy in 1988 for Best New Age Performance for Folksongs for a Nuclear Village...
, and electric guitarist Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
, among others.
Albums
As solo artist:As part of Young & Rollins
Young & Rollins
Young & Rollins is a guitar duo, consisting of Daniel Young and Lawson Rollins, that performs and records original music which draws upon an eclectic mixture of salsa music, Latin jazz, blues, samba, bossa nova, flamenco, and classical styles. Their music can be broadly described as a melding of...
External links
- Official site
- [ The All Music Guide]