Reza Manzoori was born in the year of the fire horse in Shiraz, Iran, a city famous for its wine, rose gardens, and poetry. He remembers an early affinity for music and rhythm, but didn’t begin playing until rather late in life at 17 when he found an old guitar belonging to his sister in the basement of the house they lived in. The guitar had only the three treble strings. Still, this was more than enough to work with. “The first chord I ever learned was a D chord and I think it was because the guitar only had those three strings”.

A Segovia cassette was another inspiration. “Finding a Segovia album in post-revolution Iran was not at all impossible, however to me it was more than a call to the understanding of the guitar. It was a call to the understanding of music itself. I realized that the guitar wasn’t the instrument, but that music was, and the guitar was simply a tool for the instrument of Music.”

Upon arriving to the United States Reza enrolled in Los Angeles Valley College. Throughout his attendance there he held first chair in both the LAVC Guitar Ensemble and the Monarch Guitar Quartet, an extension of the guitar department headed by Robert G. Mayeur. “Performing (solos) was a great lesson for me. Knowing that I had nothing but the music to play allowed me to forget that I was all alone up there.”

His musical experiences are wide and varied. “I wanted to be a great guitar player, but more than that I wanted to be a great musician. And so music in all its forms became appealing to me. I thank my sister for leaving me that old guitar with three strings, and the Creator for blessing my ears. I sometimes wonder what might have happened had it been a didgeridoo.”

Reza’s album ‘ReStrung’ is a collection of original songs that he has been “re-creating” for the past ten years. He has been heard to call them practice pieces. “On most of the songs on ‘ReStrung’ what you hear, minus the percussion, is one guitar track. So all these songs can be performed as solos. However, they would all work nicely as duets, or even trios and quartets.”

Reza is currently at work on ‘RezaNation’, a follow - up to ‘ReStrung’.

 

Check out his song “Insignia” and keep reading to learn more about this talented guitarist!

For the readers who may be unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your music? Who are your main influences? …

I’ve been told that my music sounds familiar, as if heard before but not quite placed. I think my music , if I can call it mine, is timeless yet original. I can hear many influences in my playing, classical being the obvious one. But there is another side to my playing which brings the whole experience into the “now”. Like hearing something from your past for the first time.

I compose in several different genres of music, but this description seems to transcend these different genres. I am melody driven. I want to make things pretty, even when they’re ugly, dirty, gritty. I’ve often heard my music described as beautiful. I think they mean the whole thing, message and messenger.

As far as influences,

Segovia taught me to be self-taught. The way he’d break his chord into a false arpeggio by playing the highest note separately before the rest of the chord, and how that became a technique, inspired me to play all that was in my heart and to not hold back on new techniques. To be unafraid to explore, to be passionate.

Lukather is one of my favorites. Speed with accuracy has always gotten my attention, but the choices of notes, the direction and flow of melody, phrasing, combined with the technical ability is really what captures me. When someone seems to have it all covered. Gerardo Nunez, Shawn Lane, Stevie Ray Vaughan. I would say as much time as I have spent listening to these guys, I don’t necessarily identify so much with them today as maybe I have incorporated what I took from listening to them into what I do. Like the inspiration itself is what actually shapes who I am as a player and a composer. Which to me says that I am influenced by so many, even ones I have forgotten about. Even non musical artists like Bruce Lee - major influence for me. Eddie Izzard, my daughter Ella, and the list continues…

So how did you get started playing the guitar? …

I was 9 when I first strummed a Les Paul cranked thru an amp… in Benfeld, France…my entire being lit up. I never forgot the feeling I had when my sister and nephew looked into my eyes smiling, almost frozen. I realized I could persuade with this thing in my hand. Years later at 17 I found a 3-stringed guitar belonging to my sister that she had left behind in the basement.

It was missing the 3 bass strings. I had a Segovia tape that I had found and I worked out most of “Canarios” on those three treble strings. A few months later my father bought me a Yamaha nylon string, and with the Segovia tape I went to work. It never seemed slow, the learning pace. Since there wasn’t a lot of music out and about in post-revolution Tehran, I didn’t have much to compare myself to. Segovia set a standard for me that I never saw as unreachable…little did I know. Then there was all this new music that came into Iran. I had Michael Jackson’s Thriller about a week after it was available in the US and not to mention all the music from Rainbow, Queen, … to every electric guitar band that pushed the envelope in playing skills.

What is one influential event that helped shape your playing style, or take it to the next level?

I’m not sure about the details but I know it has something to do with hearing Satriani for the first time. I heard the path I was gonna take. A whole new way of phrasing opened up for me. I evened played a recording I did on 4 track for a classmate without telling him it was me, and as soon as the playing began he said, “yea, this is Satriani’s new song”. As far as my fingerstyle playing, Gerardo Nunez was another jolt to my laurels. I played a copy of his Jucal in my car for almost a whole year trying to decipher his patterns, which are already way too fast.

How do you approach your song-writing?

Mostly I try to listen for things coming my way, but I have also done things like build a beat and see what kind of melody appears out of that. I’ve been inspired by a tiny segment of a lick I might have heard in passing, and built a whole new thing from that.

What kind of gear are you using?

I’m a sentimental romantic. At first I attended college as most Iranians do with hopes of becoming a doctor. My father being a world renowned surgeon (he operated on Joe Namath’s knee)…coincidentally, I saw Joe namath in Brentwood, California one day and I told him “my father cut you open back in the 70’s”…well, not exactly those words…it was a great moment for me. The world was so small I could fit it in a guitar…and during those pre-med years I took classical guitar at valley college with Robert G. Mayeur, who headed the guitar dept. After a few more years ( i went a total of 4.5 years at college…not having direction can…) i decided to study music and took everything from harmony, counterpoint, orchestrations, and of course playing in the guitar ensemble and in duets, trios, and quartets. I finally blossomed and was semester after semester on the deans list. I knew this was it for me. I use to lie in bed at night with my nylon string Yamaha CG-100 (named Christine…yes, after the car) and pluck the low E and let it ring…and repeat…so I still have Christine which I use, along with a Takamine cutaway that was given to be by my dear friend Rama Morovati, who is a fine nylon player with a heart of gold and a mean machine gun picking technique. Until we met in college I had never held a pick to a nylon, so the world of Strunz and Farah, Di Meola, et al opened up to me.

Rama and I recorded “TWO WORLDS” through the millennium and played with many artists as well as gigs and parties. Not only did he encourage me through out our times but eventually gave me his guitar. He said after he saw and heard me play his Takamine, he couldn’t play it anymore…(perhaps Ii soiled his instrument). I also own a Kramer Aerostar thats been worked on extensively throughout its time with me…her name is ruby and I’ve had her for almost 20 years. I run it through a pod and a fender deville. Also a 12 string shanendoah, given to me by a collegemate and fellow musician, Daryl M. Kaili. We played many years together in college.

Describe a normal day for you. How much time do you spend practicing and playing, talking to fans, networking, etc. ?

I swing like a pendulum. Play for 3 weeks at a time until my nails lift from my fingertips and then weeks or months of not playing. Kind of a moody approach, but my creativity seems to run that course also. I think sometimes you have to step away so you can come back with a fresh approach. I’ve never practiced at networking. Its funny, growing up with a father like mine left me wanting for nothing. I rarely remember asking for things as they came to me. And yet I feel I never learned how to ask for something, let alone make sure that it gets done. Playing was the easy part. It was up to me and a guitar. But dealing with people, and not having experienced that much, left me shy, quiet, and waiting for the right moment to open my mouth. It was often too late. I tried to CHANGE but I wasn’t sure what that would have done to me as a player. I use to work as a salesman and was very good at it, but with continuous “lies” and sales tactics, I couldn’t reach my instrument any more. So good bye sales, and hello integrity. I’m much more comfortable with myself now and don’t feel the need to change in order to truly express myself through music.

Do you have any advice for aspiring young guitarists who want to pursue a career in music or just better themselves as players?

I spent my time playing. I never really thought about anything else…I focused on the art of playing but found myself unable to apply it as a job. I would say to keep it close to home, home being where the art is. I’m not referring to the art of dealing with people or ones instrument but rather with oneself. I’ve heard it said that if one is to treat what they do professionally they should not bring their misery to it. Although in the right “hands” it can create magic. Practice alone, don’t practice at all, just play, these are all different sides of the same emotion. When you no longer have a preference, everything is a possibility.

What are you most proud of musically?

My ears and their ability to open my mind, heart, and eyes…also when my Professor at Valley College, Dr. Dan Stehman (we miss you) told me that I had an above average musical sense. Coming from such a sweet soul like him, that moment has never left me.

Any other thoughts or words of inspiration?

It was no accident that I made someone believe I was Satriani (doesn’t say much about my classmate!). I studied Satriani enough to emulate him. I have come to a point where I’m pretty sure iIwill never be blown away by anything else that Satriani or my other fallen idols do. Sad to say but honestly, Shawn Lane is the zenith for me ( or is it just for now?), representing the road less traveled, out side of the box kinda thing. I can say the same about Gerardo Nunez. Who else will captivate me the way these two do? I’m sure that there are plenty more out there waiting to be heard, So as I identify with these men, I hope to keep an open eye to “identifying”‘ itself in an attempt to keep from falling under their spells. As I am being who I am ,

I’d like to remember to be open so that I can change from what I am, to what I want to be, and beyond…to what is to come for me.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Featured Guitar Player of the Week: Mike OrlandoFeatured Artist of the Week: Tino FornerisGuitar Player Zen: I want it, and I want it NOW!Guitar Player Zen: Identifying Opportunity, Eliminating FearGuitar Player Zen: Courtesy of Jeff Beck