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Lawson Rollins
Billboard Top 10 charting world music guitarist and composer Lawson Rollins is ranked as one of the “50 Best Acoustic Guitarists of All Time” by Guitar Player Magazine, the world’s leading guitar publication for over 50 years.
Over the past 20 years Lawson’s 11 solo albums and 4 albums with his prior group Young & Rollins have landed in the Billboard Top 10 World Music Chart and spawned a growing list of Billboard Top 30 contemporary jazz radio hits. Acoustic Guitar Magazine describes his playing as 'impeccable' and 'dazzling' while Guitar Player writes, "Lawson Rollins is a bona fide star...The key to Rollins' mass appeal is his signature artistic balance between classically influenced compositional refinement, infectious exotic rhythms, and the unbridled intensity of full-on shred."
Sensational videos like “The Fire Cadenza”, “Santa Ana Wind” and "Locomotion" - all jaw dropping displays of his electrifying speed and gift for merging rhythm and melody - have attracted millions of viewers including over 10 million views alone on YouTube.
In his globally-inspired music, Lawson incorporates the stimulating rhythmic drive of rumba, salsa, and samba with graceful melodic finesse and free-flowing improvisational flair. His melodic, exhilarating solos and exotic, cross-genre instrumentation performed by internationally renowned musicians have won him an ever growing fan base around the world. "All music has a hybrid quality," Lawson believes. "Thousands of years of travel, trade and communication between cultures created new forms of musical expression. The Spanish guitar embodies this with its ties to the Arab oud, the Persian tar, even the sitar, so weaving those strands together seems natural to me."
His albums feature numerous collaborations with artists the world over, including Grammy Award winners and nominees like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Charlie Bisharat (of Shadowfax), Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Mads Tolling, Kayhan Kalhor (of the Silk Road Ensemble) and Horacio Hernandez, as well as Billboard #1 charting contemporary jazz masters like 3rd Force and Praful. An ever growing cast of eclectic, notable artists continues to expand his world-fusion sound, with musicians such as Idan Raichel, Buckethead, William Aura (of 3rd Force), and Shahin Shahida (of Shahin & Sepehr) contributing to the mix.
Lawson's critically acclaimed, award-winning, genre defying solo albums have landed high on the contemporary jazz radio charts and produced two #1 Billboard charting songs: “Free to Fly” off RISE and "Moonlight Samba" from his ESPIRITO album. As a testament to his enduring appeal on radio he was asked to serve as "Celebrity Guest DJ" on Sirius-XM Radio - the archived show is available to listen to here.
Read more“Traveler” Visits Barnes & Noble, Bossa Novas Onto Billboard Chart
Source:
Great Scott P.R.oductions
World beat purveyor Lawson Rollins boosted by in-store play for his newly released album; the virtuoso guitarist to be profiled in Guitar Player magazine. San Francisco, CA: The guitar-guided world music excursions that you hear this month in Barnes & Noble stores throughout the United States come from the recently released Traveler, the critically-hailed fifth album from globetrotting guitarist Lawson Rollins. Debuting upon release in the Top 20 of the iTunes world music chart, the disc produced by Rollins and ...
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Lawson Rollins: Have Guitar, Will Travel
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Great Scott P.R.oductions
Lawson Rollins is a virtuosic tour guide on a musical exploration around the globe on his fifth album, Traveler, which will be released February 17. San Francisco, CA: Many people travel from an encapsulated distance, staying at posh brand name hotels and dining under the golden arches while others prefer to explore by blending amongst the natives for a more immersive and organic experience of the actual sights and sounds of a culture. Award-winning guitarist Lawson Rollins lives by the ...
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Lawson Rollins: Riding The “Momentum” Of A Global Guitar Excursion “Full Circle”
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Great Scott P.R.oductions
Lawson Rollins releases his fourth album, which is earning airplay and praise in abundance San Francisco, CA: Prodigious guitarist Lawson Rollins’ “Full Circle,” a riveting 12-song aural adventure crammed with culture and masterful musicianship that was released today by Infinita Records, is like traversing the world without the hassles of modern travel. Rollins’ fourth album, which he produced with multi-platinum producer Dominic Camardella (Ottmar Liebert, Flora Purim, 3rd Force), explores the borderless expanse of captivating melodies and fascinating global rhythms ...
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Globetrotting Guitarist Lawson Rollins Comes “Full Circle”
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Great Scott P.R.oductions
July 16th release bodes to harness the “Momentum” generated by over 7.5 million YouTube views San Francisco, CA: Having traversed the world in search of intriguing sounds from virtually every corner of the globe with his beloved Spanish guitar en tow, Lawson Rollins has come full circle on his aptly titled fourth solo album, “Full Circle,” which will be released July 16th by his Infinita Records. Adopting a “less can be more” philosophy on the twelve new songs that he ...
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"Elevation" - 2011 Album from Lawson Rollins
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Shore Fire Media
“Masterful, Genre Busting" Guitar Virtuoso Lawson Rollins' New Album Elevation Confirmed For Oct 18 Release Globe-Spanning Album Was Recorded In Iran, Nepal And The U.S. Lawson Rollins, the renowned genre crossing and Billboard-charting guitarist, will release his newest album Elevation (Infinita Records) Oct 18. It features Rollins' virtuosic guitar playing, guest performances by nearly 20 world music masters and was recorded in far-flung locales such as Nepal, California, Virginia, and Iran. The thirteen original tracks on the album were written ...
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Passionate & Prodigious Guitarist Lawson Rollins Unveils the Multicultural "Espirito"
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Great Scott P.R.oductions
Moonlight Samba debuts as the #1 most added radio track Passion, prodigious technique, art and elements of culture from around the world unite on Espirito, the second album from world music-jazz guitarist Lawson Rollins that was released yesterday (January 19) on Infinita Records, which is distributed by Baja/TSR Records. Moonlight Samba, a seductive Latin groove with a breezy melody, muted trumpet accents, and celestial vocals from Brazilian icon Flora Purim and percussion master Airto Moreira, debuted at radio last week ...
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Lawson Rollins to Release His "Espirito" on January 19
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Press Junkie PR
LAWSON ROLLINS PRESENTS HIS WORLD/JAZZ RELEASE ESPIRITO ON INFINITA RECORDS (JANUARY 19, 2010)
Espirito Features the Talents of World Music Stars Flora Purim, Airto Moreira, Kayhan Kalhor, Charlie Bisharat, Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez, and Shahin Shahida
When guitarist Lawson Rollins appeared on the world music scene, he astonished listeners with his electrifying speed and expansive musical vision. His impossible-to-categorize sound combined the passionate rhythms of salsa and samba, the free flowing improvisations of Latin jazz, the deep bass tones of ...
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Guitarist Lawson Rollins to Release "Espirito"
Source:
Great Scott P.R.oductions
Guitarist Lawson Rollins to release the exquisite and expansive Espirito on January 19th.
Many believe that the arts mirror what is happening in the world and if that is the case, perhaps Lawson Rollins Espirito serves as a monumental soundtrack to the unification of our disparate cultures. The guitarists epic thirteen-song collection, to be released January 19th by Infinita Records, which is distributed by Baja/TSR Records, serves as the very definition of World Music with its seamless multicultural mlange of ...
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Guitarist Lawson Rollins' Jazz-World Music Solo Debut Album is off to a Great Start
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Great Scott P.R.oductions
Guitarist Lawson Rollins' jazz-World Music solo debut album is off to a great start. The title track to Infinita growing at radio, album garnering praise
The soundtrack to an alluring world voyage, a festive exaltation of music, art and life, guitarist Lawson Rollins' solo debut album, Infinita, was released last week (May 20) via the artist's Infinita Records, distributed by Baja/TSR Records. The collection of eleven original compositions, guided by Rollins' classical Spanish guitar, explores diverse cultures and unveils intriguing ...
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Guitarist Lawson Rollins Set to Release an Expansive Multicultural Solo Debut Album May 20th
Source:
Great Scott P.R.oductions
Infinita is a richly decorated tapestry of jazz and World Music featuring renowned musicians; title track will be serviced to multiple radio formats Exquisite Spanish guitar melodies and ethnically diverse grooves dance and romance on Lawson Rollins' alluring solo debut album, Infinita, which will be released May 20th on the artist's Infinita Records label that is distributed by Baja/TSR Records. Rollins composed the eleven songs that comprise the inspired jazz-World Music disc that he produced with Shahin Shahida (of the ...
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“His classical tone is gorgeous, his technique is impeccable. His subtle genre blending is compelling.”
~ Guitar Player Magazine
“It’s not often that a Latin jazz guitarist generates millions of views on YouTube with short instrumental pieces, but Lawson Rollins
is used to defying expectations”
~ Guitar World Magazine
"The sound is impeccable, the compositions dynamic, and the technique dazzling."
~ Acoustic Guitar Magazine
Music
Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
Voyager's Tale
From: ElevationBy Lawson Rollins
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