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Juan Dhas

Born on May 4th 1994 in Dubai, UAE, guitarist Juan Dhas was immersed in music from the very beginning. At the age of 8, he began classical piano studies under Anton Tajanlangit, a member of the musical Tajanlangit family from the Philippines. However, Juan’s true passion for the guitar was ignited upon hearing a Hendrix album his father had bought; completely awe-struck, he asked his parents if he could study guitar. Juan’s wish was granted when he began studying with another Tajanlangit family member, Peter Tajanlangit, who saw great potential in Juan and nurtured his abilities over the coming years.

From a young age, Juan absorbed whatever he could around him, subconsciously molding his musical tastes. Growing up in Dubai, in a household with a Colombian mother and Indian father gave Juan a different perspective on life and his music. His trips to numerous countries and interactions with people from around the world made a lasting impression, allowing for a bottomless well of inspiration. In 2010, Juan auditioned for the prestigious Berklee College of Music, where he was awarded a scholarship and began his studies in Fall 2011. Since then, Juan has had the opportunity to study with great musicians such as Tim Miller, David Fiuczynski, and Leo Blanco (with whom he has performed). Juan also had the chance to hone his skills in improvisation, composition, and arranging.

At Berklee, Juan was exposed to a wide variety of music, which had a marked effect on his playing and creative voice. Not only did he discover contemporary Jazz, he also began to cultivate his guitar style around the sound of other instruments: most notably, the saxophone and the piano. Some of the influences cited during this period of time include Joshua Redman, Michael Brecker, Chris Potter, Aaron Parks, and Taylor Eigsti. Combining these sounds with some of his earlier influences, such as Tom Quayle and Allan Holdsworth, Juan has continued to craft a fluid, lyrical sound.

Currently 20 years old, Juan will soon be graduating from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor’s Degree in guitar performance. His first solo album, Embracing Clarity, is a collection of unique compositions that takes the listener on a musical journey. Weaving together lyrical melodies and colourful textures, the album creates an atmosphere that is both emotionally rich and thought- provoking.

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10
Album Review

Juan Dhas: Catharsis

Read "Catharsis" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Guitarist Juan Dhas' debut recording, Embracing Clarity (Self Produced, 2014), was released just before he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music. Returning to Bogotá in 2016, the then twenty- two-year-old immersed himself in the Colombian jazz scene. Just the following year, he obtained the post of Coordinator of the Guitar Department at EMMAT, a feeder school for Berklee. It's been an impressive trajectory, one that continues with Catharsis, which sees Dhas move from the quartet setting of ...

3
Album Review

Juan Dhas: Catharsis

Read "Catharsis" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Acutely adept at both the simmer and boil of his mercurial compositions and a fluid improviser, guitarist/composer Juan Dhas, a Summa Cum Laude graduate from the Berklee College of Music at the age of twenty, proves himself a maturing, expansive and ever thoughtful player on Catharsis. As first heard on Embracing Clarity, his self produced 2014 debut, Dubai-born and Bogota-based, twenty-four year old Dhas has quickly developed an elementally warm, crisp, and highly accessible tone that gives free ...

3
Album Review

Juan Dhas: Embracing Clarity

Read "Embracing Clarity" reviewed by Budd Kopman


Guitarist Juan Dhas's full name is Juan Diego Chandra Dhas which gives some idea of his initial life influences through his Colombian mother and Indian father. After getting a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in 2010, and graduating in 2014, Dhas recorded Embracing Clarity, which is only available digitally due to financial constraints. Blessed with seemingly endless guitar technique in both hands (see here), Dhas can do whatever he wishes technically. However, on his seven original ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Aether

Self Produced
2024

buy

Traced in Sand...

Self Produced
2022

buy

Heartbeat (Single)

Self-Produced
2021

buy

Catharsis

Self Produced
2018

buy

Embracing Clarity

Self Produced
2015

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Socotra (feat. Santiago Bosch)

From: Aether
By Juan Dhas

Traced in Sand (feat. Petros Klampanis & Patrick Duke Graney)

From: Traced in Sand (Single)
By Juan Dhas

Heartbeat

From: Heartbeat (Single)
By Juan Dhas

For A Chapter Closed, And Another Begun

From: For A Chapter Closed, and...
By Juan Dhas

Deeper Spirit

From: Catharsis
By Juan Dhas

Motive

From: Embracing Clarity
By Juan Dhas

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