Guitarist-composer Az Samad’s music has taken him to festivals and venues in the United States, Austria, United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia. Az has performed/recorded with Grammy winners Flaco Jimenez and Max Baca, singer-songwriter Tara Linda, Rick Vandivier, Hristo Vitchev, world music ensemble Bogofusion, electronic jazz-funk group Planet Loop, and string jazz ensemble JazzMine. “A prodigy with the steel-string and nylon-string guitars” (Faces Magazine), Az is constantly in demand with his diverse musical skills in Jazz, contemporary acoustic fingerstyle guitar and classical guitar leading to performances from intimate solo guitar shows to outdoor festival stages and classical orchestra concerts.
As an educator, Az has been on faculty for Berklee College of Music’s Summer Guitar Sessions. Az was also the co-teacher for the Guitar Fundamentals class, and teaching assistant for Jazz Improvisation class at San Jose State University (SJSU), San Jose, CA. In addition to his musical outreach work at SF Bay Area schools with Sonart Group, Az has taught workshops at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT; Culturefest in Pipestem, WV; Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA; International College of Music, and Malaysian Institute of Art in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Az is an endorsed artist of William Jeffrey Jones Guitars, Yamamoto Guitar, MONO Instrument Cases, and Rock Solid Guitar Stands.
Az Samad received his MA in Music (Jazz Studies) from San Jose State University, BM in Jazz Composition and Performance (Summa Cum Laude) from Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA, and BMus in Arranging from University of Westminster, United Kingdom. Az has studied guitar with Eric Roche (UK), Thomas Leeb (Austria/LA), Don Ross (Canada), Alex de Grassi, Mick Goodrick (Gary Burton Group), David Tronzo, John Stowell, Jimmy Wyble, Ben Monder (Maria Schneider Orchestra) and Bryan Baker (Steps Ahead). In addition to classical guitar master classes with Mark Teicholz and Muriel Anderson, Az has taken private lessons with Steven Lin, Patrick Francis, Grisha Goryachev, Scott Tennant, Willliam Kanengiser, Gyan Riley and Ron Burczon.
http://www.azsamad.com