Bio

Gil Ayan
GUITARIST

Biography

My musical journey began at the age of 6 when my parents gave me a guitar and found me a music teacher. We were living in Brazil at that time, and I quickly developed a taste for Brazilian contemporary popular music, as Viniçius de Moraes and Antonio Carlos Jobim propelled Bossa Nova into the international spotlight. However, it wasn't long before I discovered The Beatles and rock and roll, and my first guitar heroes: Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. In my early teens, equipped with a "fire engine red" electric, I began forming bands and playing the music of the 1970s.

I moved to northern California in 1983 and got my first significant exposure to R&B, jazz and "West Coast Music" upon joining my first professional band. In the following years, in pursuit of new musical interests, I auditioned for and won the guitar chair of my college's jazz ensemble and become a regular — and often uninvited — guest guitarist with the Jules Broussard band at San Francisco's Roland's jazz club. Relocating to L.A. in the early 1990s, I spent some time with the legendary band Azteca, originally founded by Santana's member Coke Escovedo. In L.A., I've had had the opportunity to do freelance studio work and perform on several local venues (read: most all of them!), sharing the stage with Koko Taylor, Keb Mo and Steppenwolf, among others.

I enjoy performing live and doing recording sessions and I try to make time for projects in these areas. With a style influenced by blues, rock and roll, bossa nova and jazz, I mainly favor the electric guitar but play some nylon string too. If you believe your music project can use someone with my type of background, drop me an email and let's talk some more.

Some Sound Clips

The following are a few samples of some things I have done over the years.

Doctor Wu, the Steely Dan tribute band that I have been working with for the last couple of years, has some MP3s here.
Here is a clip from song entitled "You Are," which I recorded with singer/songwriter Julie Robbins.
Next is an excerpt from "I Know," a cut from a studio date with me playing a solo over a moody rock tune.
Here's a tidbit of a Latin-flavored rendition of "Autumn Leaves" recorded with fellow guitarist and friend Herve Laurent, along with drums and bass accompaniment. Very simple combo but we enjoyed the vibe a lot, and we couldn't help but sound bossa nova on this one. Also from that recording is a bit of Mile Davis's "All Blues."
This clip is from a song by Jake Feldman, son of the great keyboardist/percussionist Victor Feldman (Tom Scott's L.A. Express, Steely Dan sessionist, etc.), a personal friend, and a great musician in his own right. The tune is entitled "Out of Bounds" and was cut live to an 8-track cassette Tascam as part of a demo CD.
This piece is a little swinging blues thing that I put together for a special CD project with a bunch of cyber friends, most of whom I've never actually met in "real life." Entitled "L.A. Boogie Blues" and recorded at home on a 4-track cassette machine with MIDI accompaniment, this song was featured on the CD Shutting Up and Playing Our Guitars.
I've had some of the best times at gigs playing blues clubs, so I will not turn down a good blues gig! This is from one of those nights at a noisy club somewhere in L.A., when the band is sounding real raw, so I suppose we could call this "Raw Blues."

For contact information please email: ayanmusic@ayanmusic.com