About Julian
A uniquely versatile guitarist, Julian fuses his early love of American jazz and improvisation with decades of diving deep into the guitar music of the world.
Julian plays an incredible variety of musical styles, adding his own dazzling spin and compositions to the music of Latin America, including bossa nova, tango, valse, Brazilian choro, flamenco jazz, and milonga.
Julian studied classical guitar with Carlos Barbosa-Lima and Guillermo Fierens (a student of Segovia).
Julian has performed in Spain, Scotland, Tahiti, and Mexico and has appeared as a guest artist on television, cruise ships, and musical theatre. He has accompanied notables including The Mills Brothers, Little Anthony, Kenny Garrett, Robert Merrill, Cab Calloway, and Rosemary Clooney. In Seattle, he has performed with Freddy Greenwell, Floyd Standifer, Luis Peralta, Fred Radke, and Pearl Django’s bassist Rick Leppanen, and appeared at numerous regional festivals, including Bumbershoot, the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts, the Bellevue Jazz Festival, and Seattle and Tacoma Arts Commission concerts.
Julian is on the preferred vendor/partner lists of the Sorrento Hotel, Kiana Lodge, the Woodmark Hotel, the Farm Kitchen, Jewel Hospitality, Novelty Hill – Januik Winery, the Seattle Yacht Club, the Edgewater Hotel, the Seattle Tennis Club, and has worked for years with many others in the event and catering industry.
Clients include the Columbia Tower Club, Frye Art Museum, Olympic Four Seasons Hotel, Chateau St. Michelle Winery, Hyatt Regency, Willows Lodge, the Ruins, Museum of Flight, Seattle Aquarium, Mayflower Park Hotel, Tiffany & Co., Rainier Club, Broadmoor, Newcastle Golf Club, and many more.
I've been in love with South American and Spanish guitar and jazz for over twenty-five years. I don't remember exactly where it started. Was it listening to my dad's old records of Laurinda Almeda or Django Reinhardt, or studying classical guitar with Guillermo Fierens, or Carlos Barbosa Lima in college? Perhaps it was from listening to guitarists Baden Powell, Raphael Rabello, and Paco de Lucia, or jazz players Grant Green, Joe Pass, and Lenny Breau, or the Brazilian singers, Elis Regina, Clara Nunes, Ivan Lins, and of course, Antonio Carlos Jobim. The passion and feeling—they say 'saudade' or 'duende'—of these people and many more, continue to inspire me.
Performer
Julian has performed for over 40 years in Seattle the Seattle are as a soloist, or with Dos Guitarras, his Jazz Trio, and others. Since arriving on the Olympic Peninsula, he has performed with vocalist Jean Lenke, guitarist Trevor Hanson, Tango player Bertram Levy, and Brazilian music Combo Choro.
Recording Artist
Julian has appeared on recordings with jazz artists including Freddy Greenwell, vocalists Lincoln Briney and Janis Mann, and many others. His own recordings include the Brazilian and Latin-inspired Sonoroso, a live recording of solo jazz guitar, Christmas Eve Live, and selections for classical guitar, Something Old, Something New.
Composer
Julian has composed numerous jazz and Latin-inspired tunes and composed and performed music for the audio language learning series 10 Minutes a Day® (the French, Italian, German, and Spanish versions).