On The Record: Mark Guiliana In 12 Songs

Dhafer Youssef — “Odd Elegy” from Abu Nawas Rhapsody (2010)
Guiliana makes a major impression on Tunisian oud virtuoso Youssef’s 2010 release, featuring bassist Chris Jennings and piano star-in-the-making Tigran Hamasyan. This live video from the 2010 Jazz Sous les Pommiers festival captures their otherworldly musical telepathy.

Beat Music — “Public Interest” from Beat Music (2013)
Guiliana’s deep connection to the beat making genius of artists like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher comes together in this improvised project featuring keyboardist Jeff Babko, bassist Tim LaFebvre, and electronics whiz Troy Ziegler.

Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet — “The Mayor of Rotterdam” from Jersey (2017)
Guiliana’s most recent album with his ever-evolving Jazz Quartet is clearly his most personal, featuring pianist Fabian Almazan, saxophonist Jason Rigby, and bassist Chris Morrissey, who penned this evocative track.

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Jazztronic: Mark Guiliana Finds Fertile Ground Between Jazz and Beat Music

The cosmic question: How do we become who we are?

In the case of Mark Guiliana, the path has been as random as it is organic. Taking up the drums on a whim when he was 15, he was a typical Jersey kid, watching a ton of MTV and discovering Soundgarden and Red Hot Chili Peppers – and, less typically, beginning to decode the design of their drummers, Matt Cameron and Chad Smith. It was as if they were talking to him, and he was taking it in – the language of the drums, which he initially experienced as a physical sensation, like “an energy in my body,” he says. “It was an immediate `I love this. I don’t know why. I need to figure out why.’” And then he came across Elvin Jones and Tony Williams, Art Blakey and Roy Haynes – another world, jazz – followed by the electronic rhythm mazes of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher.

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