Today we’d like to introduce you to Guillermo Marigliano.
Hi Guillermo, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started playing guitar at 13. Without much formal training, I learned the basics of music and guitar playing, playing with groups of friends and taking private lessons with various teachers. Soon after learning to play the songs I liked, with the same chord progressions I liked, and thanks to one of my teachers at the time (Marcelo Roascio), who taught me the first scales, I began composing my own songs. By the time I was 15, I had my own rock trio, in which we played my own songs and covers of the rock bands that influenced us at the time.
From my initial gig with that rock trio, I knew that my life would be a journey of growth both personally and professionally through art and music.
After graduating from high school, I was lucky to discover that Argentina’s first modern music school, the ITMC (Technological Institute of modern Music), had opened. This school had the same endorsement and curriculum as the MI (Musicians Institute, CA), because its director and founder graduated with honors in LA and was able to build a similar concept in Argentina.
During those years, I discovered jazz, improvisation, and composition. Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, Joe Doirio, and Joe Zawinul often visit the school and perform workshops—it was great! There I started on what would turn out to be a never-ending journey: jazz’s musical language, which gave myself with that particular kind of freedom. Free improvisation is the purest manifestation of the human soul’s freedom. It captivated me forever. My most in-depth and advanced studies of the instrument began after graduation, when I met Francisco Rivero, who became my mentor and one of the most respected musicians and teachers in Argentina.
As my studies advanced, I left the rock trio behind and started my jazz quartet. I accompanied a wide range of vocalists and did everything I could to gain experience and become an effective musician. Along with my performance, I began to realize that teaching sparked my interest. I began working on it. I found it easy to set up study notes for my students. I enjoyed it, and it began to give me immense joy to help others who wanted to play the guitar.
What followed was simply years of dedication and devotion to the instrument and music. I wrote and published four books on guitar teaching methods, produced and edited eight solo albums of original music, and collaborated and performed with the most well-known musicians and artists in Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil. I performed concerts, tours, and guitar workshops not only in Argentina, also in Latin American countries, Europe, and now in the United States. The 2020 pandemic was a turning point in my life, as it was for countless people around the world, therefore the first few months of 2021 found me leaving everything behind, absolutely everything, and relocate in Los Angeles for an exciting new journey.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was definitely not a smooth road! And that, I believe, is the most valuable part of history; art in all its forms is the expression and path of the soul; it is something that will make you realize what you can and cannot do; if you go deep inside the art, there is no way back, and you will be confronted with the lightest and darkest aspects of yourself. You must be extremely honest and authentic, and above all, you must understand that you are not important, and the universe owes you nothing. If you have the capacity to play music and produce art, it’s like being a doctor, a priest, or an educator (which should be the reality); it’s a service, not a job.
Understanding, embracing, and living those convictions was the hardest part of the journey; it wasn’t always about money. It’s not a job.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Well, I am a guitarist, composer, and educator who specializes in latin jazz instrumental music and is well-known for it.
I’m very proud to have learned that music and art are a continuous process of study and work, and that it allows you to connect with and learn from people from all different cultures, backgrounds, and ethnicities, as well as be a part of many different communities.
I guess that what sets me apart from others is that since I began to play the guitar, I embrace the electricity and the different sounds that you can generate trough the electric guitar, but I never quit what was my starting point with the acoustic spanish classical guitar, I never left it, an instrument that is so representative of the music roots folk sounds from South America, so I found myself (20 years later) with the abylity of perform my own music, the sounds and styles from where I came from, as a classic musician, without being a classically formed musician, and what I mostly do is perform my “Latin Guitar Concert,” a fusion of Tango, Candombe, and South American rhythms with the modern jazz harmonies and improvisation.
What’s next?
In the short term, which means the rest of 2025, I’ll be releasing my ninth album, “Latin Soul.” My last three albums were in a quartet, more electric, and this one will be only guitar, Spanish guitar, and a selection of tangos, Latin American songs, and original tunes that I do in my shows. In July, I’ll be doing my first concert tour since moving here, so I’ll be visiting a few Arizona places It’s an important change that I was looking forward to, because I’ve always been on tour with the band, and I feel very comfortable connecting with the audience in this new way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://guillermomarigliano.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guillermomarigliano/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guillermo.marigliano/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guillermo-marigliano-452373184/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx_KwCP0SUEiH_3ashnXl3Q
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/guillermo-marigliano
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3bBXJMEUAUP7xZsi7v1c3F?si=9r6d6aZsSTuOn59qL0uDoA
Image Credits
Cristina Marron
