tisziji munoz - GUITAR SHAMAN

Spirit-taught, avant-garde jazz virtuoso and extreme guitarist, Tisziji Muñoz is best known for his uniquely original guitar sound and playing style. Born on July 15, 1946, his career has spanned over five decades and includes a vast repertoire of creative works and inspired compositions largely released by his independent label, Anami Music.

Tisziji has received unqualified praise from such artists and fellow collaborators as Paul Shaffer, Pharoah Sanders, Ra Kalam Bob Moses, John Medeski, Rashied Ali, Marilyn Crispell, Dave Liebman, McCoy Tyner, Henry Kaiser, and many others.

Rashied Ali: “Tisziji’s music can go anywhere at any time. His open and free conception is what I’ve been working towards all my life. Tisziji Muñoz is a creative genius and he demonstrates that when we play. It is a way of life with him. He is of that different order of life, being humble, extraordinary and very spiritual.”

Tisziji’s profound interest in ‘jazz’ as a language and an innovative process was sparked in 1968 when he was introduced to the music of John Coltrane while enlisted in the US Army 440th General’s Band. Upon discharge from military service, Tisziji pursued his musical interests in Canada and took a lead role in the development of Toronto’s underground music scene, where he began a long-lasting, working relationship with pianist Paul Shaffer and performed as guitarist in the musicals Hair and Godspell.

Paul Shaffer: “I have played with all the great guitar players, from Eric Clapton to Van Halen to Santana to Jeff Beck, and nobody plays guitar the way Tisziji Muñoz does. He is very spiritual, and as a guitar player he swings wild.”

In the mid-70’s, Tisziji returned to New York City and began a dynamic collaborative relationship with master-of-sound saxophonist Pharoah Sanders in such renowned settings as the Village Vanguard, the Village Gate, Sweet Basil, Fat Tuesday’s, the Keystone and Lighthouse.

Pharoah Sanders: “Tisziji is a man of self-knowledge. He is the kind of genius who has to write his own books and play his own music. He thinks and plays on a higher level. Tisziji plays with that spiritual quality that is about being Free. That is in his music, that unique Sound. If you want to know about Tisziji, you have to listen to his music.”

In the years that followed, Tisziji moved to upstate New York to fulfill his destiny as a composer, producer of Anami Music, author, time master/astrologer and visionary, releasing an extensive body of unique projects featuring many of the jazz greats mentioned above in addition to Ravi Coltrane, Steve Kuhn, Don Pate, Billy Hart, Lew Soloff, Nick Brignola, John Hicks and Hilton Ruiz among others.

Henry Kaiser: “Tisziji’s music is essential listening for any guitarists or souls interested in how music can transcend physicality and the moment to open doors to new ideas and worlds. He is one of my biggest guitar heroes. But it’s NOT because he plays guitar. I think it’s almost completely irrelevant that Tisziji makes his music with a traditional six-string axe. What IS relevant is the music that Tisziji brings back with his guitar. For Tisziji does not reach into a bag of licks and tricks to create music, as most guitarists do. On the contrary, he goes OUT THERE SOMEWHERE and channels energy that is converted into guitar sounds by his physical being. That’s what is important to me: the message that Tisziji brings into this plane through his earthly music practice.”

Dave Liebman: “Tisziji’s compositions are lyrical and meaningful, reflecting his humanity and generosity of spirit. It’s great playing with Tisziji because he is right in the middle of the music. Tisziji goes right to the center of the music bringing everybody with him. He seizes the right moment. He won’t play unless it’s right.”

Lam Sobo John Medeski: “Tisziji’s songs are beautiful and simple yet complex and deep classic melodies, every one of them. His songs put me in the space that I most love playing music.”

Phil Ramone: “Tisziji Muñoz is the Hendrix-Coltrane of the guitar. His music is pure American avant-garde.”

A ‘guitar-god’ to many, Tisziji has adopted an ascetic lifestyle and rarely appears in public but has surfaced from time to time in the most conventional of settings. Tisziji has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman as a guest artist, and at Carnegie Hall with Paul Shaffer. A historic Village Underground performance celebrating the release of Divine Radiance, produced by Paul Shaffer featuring an all-star band consisting of Pharoah Sanders, Paul Shaffer, Rashied Ali, Don Pate and Ravi Coltrane.

Tisziji has been a band leader at venues ranging from the Iridium and Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, to the acoustically unique Troy Savings Bank Music Hall where he was joined by McCoy Tyner. He joined Pharoah Sanders at the Montreal Jazz Festival; and as an original collaborator on Pharoah’s Harvest Time release, Tisziji has recently been a featured artist in The Harvest Time Experiment: A Tribute to Pharoah Sanders. His musical philosophy has been documented in numerous radio interviews to include the BBC, Harvard University, Boston University and New England Conservatory broadcasts, and while these appearances may have increased the public’s recognition of this “creative master of melody and composition; a captivating guitarist given to lyrical torrents of free improvisation”, he remains the ‘best kept secret’ in the jazz community.

An accomplished author, Tisziji has independently published numerous written works encompassing his own Heart-Fire Sound realization and embracing the subjects of spirituality, genius, creativity and time mastery. His books and music have radically transformed the manner in which musicians think and play music, validating the spirit of the genuine creative artist – from the inside out.

Ra Kalam Bob Moses: “Tisziji’s writings, for me, are so intense; a couple of lines are enough for me. It’s like it is with his music. He starts out with a melody and then it triggers more. One paragraph of his writing sends me reeling off into infinity. Tisziji’s music is fundamentally unlike any other. I unabashedly and without hesitation recognize Tisziji as a genius…not a genius of academic credentials, memory, language, technique, art, culture and tradition, but more a voodoo, juju, native, Shamanic Spirit genius. One who is free to recreate the world, in the moment, all at once, to serve the needs of Spirit, not the self. His Sound and Word destroy and heal me like no other.”