Az Samad profile picture

Az Samad

Acoustic Gestures

About Me


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TIMEOUT Singapore
"A rising acoustic guitarist".
KLUE MAGAZINE
"This is one guy who can finger-pick, hold massive grape fruit-sized chords and make his guitar gently weep with the best."
THE NEW STRAITS TIMES
"..Az Samad produces works that are richly textured, poetic and atmospheric."
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One of 17 Malaysia’s most outstanding individuals (Faces Magazine), San Francisco Bay Area acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Az Samad is a full-time musician who focuses on writing original instrumental guitar music. His songs are a blend of world music, jazz, Latin, pop and new age influences. In 2003 and 2004, he studied with the late British acoustic guitar legend Eric Roche in two Residential Guitar Workshops in the UK. Deeply influenced by Eric’s music, Az gradually incorporated more percussive and non-conventional guitar techniques in his playing.
After releasing his debut album "Acoustic Gestures" in Fall 2004 to critical acclaim in Malaysia, he moved to Boston, MA to study under scholarship at Berklee College Of Music. He graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors in a dual major degree in Jazz Composition and Performance (guitar). In 2007, Az taught at Berklee for the Summer Guitar Sessions. Az has performed in venues in Malaysia, Singapore, England and the United States as a soloist and duets with his father, Malaysian National Laurete A. Samad Said as well as a member of Malaysian singer-songwriter Shelley Leong’s band. He is currently writing material for his second album slated for release in Summer 2008.
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/30/2005
Band Website: azsamad.com
Band Members:
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Influences: michael hedges
eric roche
thomas leeb
don ross
alex de grassi
pierre bensusan
tommy emmanuel
pat metheny
slava grigoryan
tuck andress
david tronzo
john stowell
tim miller
wolfgang muthspiel
shane kelley
joe pass
jacob fred jazz odyssey

Sounds Like:

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az samad's 2004 debut album
acoustic gestures

1 train to ericland
2 echoes of bangsar
3 latah setinggan
4 senja mula menangis
5 irama espanyola
6 lagu royalti belum datang
7 berjalan bersamamu
8 do you insult me waltz
9 the c factor
10 girl in the faded photograph
11 antartika
12 princess lullaby

Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

New Website : A Chord A Day - www.achordaday.com

Hi!I've just started my new website - www.achordaday.comIt features a new chord, an accompanying line along with an audio example as well as a description of the chord.Join me as I explore new chords ...
Posted by Az Samad on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:23:00 PST

Booking Az Samad for Performances and Workshops

To book me for shows and workshops, email me via the red contact button on my Sonicbids Page with the subject 'Booking Inquiry'. Bio, Music, Photos, Press Quotes and up to date performance dates are a...
Posted by Az Samad on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 10:45:00 PST

Private Lessons in the San Francisco Bay Area (Jan 13 2007 onwards)

I'm available for private guitar lessons in the San Francisco Bay Area.Topics may include (but is not limited to) acoustic guitar techniques, composition, alternate tunings, improvisation, chords and ...
Posted by Az Samad on Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:24:00 PST

Private Lessons in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Dec 2007-Early Jan 2008)

I'm available for a limited number of private guitar lessons during my timeback in Malaysia (December 2007 and first half of January 2008).Topics may include (but is not limited to) acoustic guitar te...
Posted by Az Samad on Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:35:00 PST

FREE MP3 Downloads of my songs!

You can now download Latah Setinggan from the myspace player on my page! Enjoy!Also, two free downloads (Latah Setinggan & Do You Insult Me Waltz) are available at www.truefire.com. I also have one le...
Posted by Az Samad on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:48:00 PST

Improvised Solo Guitar Piece

This is a piece that I just improvised in an attempt to capture how I feel at the moment. It was recorded via the computer mic and I think you can hear some bird sounds at the backgrou...
Posted by Az Samad on Sat, 21 Jul 2007 03:15:00 PST

Debut New York Performance!

Hi!Great news!I'm performing in New York on May 17th, 2007, 9pm at Stain Bar, a unique arts lounge dedicated to local products and talent.thurs 17, pianist/vocalist LAURA BRENNEMAN at 8 p.m., ,AZ SAMA...
Posted by Az Samad on Wed, 16 May 2007 10:16:00 PST

Vignette Collection 2: Nos. 4-6

Hi,These are three new pieces in my continuing series of vignettes. No. 4 and 5 were composed and No. 6 was improvised. Enjoy! Best wishes,AzPS- Although I generally kept the other vignettes to around...
Posted by Az Samad on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 07:30:00 PST

New short pieces: Vignette Collection 1: Nos. 1-3

This is a collection of short improvised pieces that I recently recorded. Each piece is around one-minute long. The first two are solo guitar improvisations and the third one contain 3 layered guitar ...
Posted by Az Samad on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:38:00 PST

New Exclusive Tracks on Snocap! (And a promotion for a free MP3!)

Hi!I just uploaded a new piece entitled "Snow and Ice". It's a solo nylon string guitar piece in 3 movements: Voices, Alone and Questions. The piece is improvised and I only thought about the general ...
Posted by Az Samad on Sun, 01 Apr 2007 09:17:00 PST