Quick, music lovers. What do David Letterman musical director Paul Shaffer, New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams and trumpet legend Randy Brecker have in common? All are great pals of Gil Parris, one of the most acclaimed and versatile guitar masters of his generation who has won over audiences worldwide by never losing sight of his primary goal every time he hits the stage: entertaining his audience.
I worked my whole career for, finding a unique sound and tonal quality that rises above all types of music. For me, it all comes down to putting on a great show where I can expand upon the melodies I have written and recorded. My dad is a New York stage actor, and I grew up with the whole showbiz thing, as a child being around people like Danny Devito, Mickey Rooney and various character actors. So when I play live, that’s my chance to be the “actor with an instrument,” totally committed to expressing myself through a wide variety of emotions as well as entertaining.”
This kind of ambition started early, when Parris was in his first semester at Berklee School Of Music, attending on a prestigious Al Di Meola jazz master’s scholarship; he auditioned for a European tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, got the gig and never looked back. He officially launched his career after being discovered in 1990 by hard rock producer and impresario Mike Varney, who featured the young prodigy in his “Spotlight” column in Guitar Magazine. He immersed himself on the NYC session scene and began playing with the proverbial who’s who of contemporary pop and jazz: David Sanborn, Bob James, Will Lee, Eric Alexander, Bob Malach, David Clayton-Thomas, Toni Braxton, Chuck Rainey to name but a few.
Source: http://www.myspace.com/gilparris
