Brian Tarquin (born December 2, 1965) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, recording artist,[1] sound engineer, record producer, and composer. He is best known as a guitar instrumentalist with several Top 10 radio hits in various genres as Smooth Jazz, NACC Loud Rock & Jam Band charts. He also is an established composer having won Emmy awards for "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series".[2]Brian Tarquin He owns BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records [3] and Jungle Room Studios which specializes in guitar instrumental music.[4][5][6][7][3] He specializes in guitar instrumental music and smooth jazz.[8][3] Throughout his career he has recorded with and produced projects with Larry Coryell, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Jean-Luc Ponty, Robben Ford, Gary Hoey, Hal Lindes, Chuck Loeb, Steve Morse, Billy Sheehan, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Leslie West, and Mike Stern.[9]
Early life and education
Brian Tarquin was born in New York City on December 2, 1965. He is the son of Albanian American abstract artist Pema Browne and Irish American disc jockey/literary agent Perry Joseph Browne. Tarquin grew up on the upper east side in the apartment building named Park Lane Towers that later beaome the backdrop on the weekly opener for the popular 1970's sitcom, "The Jeffersons".[10] He attended the Trinity School and Saint David's School (New York City). He studied music composition at the Mannes College of Music and attended SUNY New Paltz in the mid-1980s. After college Tarquin attended the defunct Center for Media Arts in the Chelsea district to study audio engineering and music production. Tarquin spent a short stint in the Army ROTC during his time in college, doing basic training in Fort Knox, TN.[11][7][1]
Professional career
Early career
After audio production school Tarquin worked as an assistant engineer for New York's Electric Lady Studios and then at Far & Away Studios, owned by Geoff Gray in Goshen, New York. The studio was in a 200-year-old barn with a huge old fireplace and cobwebbed wooden slatted walls. Geoff was a mentor and became a lifelong friend of Tarquin. After about a year Brian went to work as an assistant engineer [12] and sales rep for Look & Company, a 5th Avenue jingle house in the Flatiron district. This was the next stage of his career where he discovered music production libraries and started to compose for them.
This propelled Brian to move to California as he states in his book, Survival Guide for Music Composers (Hal Leonard Publishing),[13] "Los Angeles offered me what I could not get in New York, the accessibility to the music industry and as it turned out film and television production companies who needed music." Upon arriving in L.A., he started working at the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather on Wilshire Blvd. by the La Brea tar pits producing music for Barbie commercials.[14] Brian then worked as an assistant engineer at Powerhouse Studios in the San Fernando Valley, while at night performing at The Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood), The Whisky a Go Go on Sunset, and The Baked Potato in Studio City. Tarquin went on to work at various record labels as Restless Records and Virgin Records in radio promotion and finance. He was living in Hollywood at the time, at the famous historical building 1764 N. Sycamore between Franklin and Hollywood Blvd. in Jim Morrison's old apartment. Morrison used the apartment to escape from his Hollywood Hills home from the groupies to write poetry. The building as a whole was a Rock N Roll historic monument reeking of the 1960s, where bands like The Rolling Stones and Paul Revere & The Raiders rented apartments. By 1994 Tarquin made the big switch from rock fusion to contemporary jazz instrumental after being inspired by the Acid Jazz movement from London in the mid-'90s.[15]
Composer
In 1991 Tarquin started to compose music for the production company James & Astor in New York City. Subsequently, Tarquin's music was used for the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics on CBS television. During this time, Brian recorded the track "Hollywood Shuffle" which was used on the popular show, Beverly Hills, 90210. He recalls, "I remember seeing my music used for the first time on that show, what a rush, they played it loads of times, it must of ran morning noon and night for the promos." He went on to compose for Marc Ferrari's production company called Red Engine Music, later to become MasterSource Music, getting various placements on television and film projects. In 1994 Tarquin's song "What It Is", which would later appear on his debut solo album "Ghost Dance", was used on the popular Spelling TV show Models Inc. In 1997 in partnership with programmer/keyboardist Chris Ingram, he delved into rock electronica music and wrote the theme music for MTV's Road Rules for Seasons 7 & 8 along with many of the shows cues. He had a long relationship with Bunim/Murray Productions composing music for "Real World" and the original series "Making the Band" airing on ABC-TV in 2000. For ten years Tarquin composed for All My Children working with music supervisor Terry Walker resulting in receiving two Television Academy Emmy Awards[16]for his work on the show and 6 nominations. In 2000 he composed for Paramount's show "Resurrection Blvd." the dramatic series which aired on Showtime. Tarquin composed the opening music and various score for the 2002 film "The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest" directed by Mick Jackson. In 2019 Tarquin released Soundtracks I & II [17] on his label BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records [18] showcasing the musical highlights of his career in film and television.[4]
In 2006 Tarquin launched his own record label, BHP Music/Guitar Trax, and released personal projects and a series of Guitar Masters compilations.
In 2012 he founded TV Film Trax, a music production catalog which by 2016—when it was sold to a private investor—included more than 2,000 songs by a variety of composers for television, and from which editors, music supervisors, producers, or directors can easily access tracks for their productions.[25][26][27]
In 2020 Tarquin signed an exclusive worldwide distribution deal with APM [28] and Sonoton Music for film and television representation for his catalog 1st Choice Music [12] composing of many famous guitarists.
Guitarist and performer
Smooth Jazz 1990s
In 1995 Tarquin entered into a recording deal with the Canadian label, Jazz Inspiration distributed by MCA. In 1996 his debut album "Ghost Dance" [7] was released spurring Tarquin to support the album by touring with acts like Chuck Loeb & Dave Koz in the California Jazz Festival market.
In 1997 Tarquin was signed to a three-record deal with the New York acid jazz label Instinct Records. His first success in the market was the track "Arrow of Truth", which appeared on the release "This Is Acid Jazz Vol. 2” charting Top 20 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts.
The following year he was flown to London to record and work with acid jazz producer Ernie McKone for his album Last Kiss Goodbye,[29] It garnered several hits at smooth jazz radio, "One Arabian Knight", "Freeway Jam" (Jeff Beck Cover), "Midnight Blue" and "57th Street". The album charted #4 at the R&R and Gavin charts. Tarquin's follow up album was the 1999 release Soft Touch which again paired him up with Ernie McKone in London at Boogie Back Studios. The album produced the smooth jazz radio hits "Darlin Darlin Baby" (O'Jay's cover), Tangled Web, and the vocal song "Rainfall". Soft Touch would chart #9 on the R&R and Gavin charts. His final album with Instinct Records was the 2001 release High Life.[30] which was produced by Chris Ingram recorded in New York and Los Angeles. The album generated radio classics as "Rider on the Storm" (The Doors cover), "Celtic Tales" and "Charlemagne". In 2002 Passion Jazz label[20] released a compilation of Tarquin's music called Sanctuary.[31]
In 2005, with Chris Ingram, he released a recording of electronic music for use in stage and screen called Downtempo Drama Vol. 1 on the Megatrax Production Music Inc. label.[32] In 2008, Tarquin released Fretwork for nuGroove Records.[31]
Asphalt Jungle
Tarquin with Les Paul
In the late-90's, Tarquin founded the band Asphalt Jungle with keyboardist and programmer Chris Ingram,[33] and in 2002 released their debut album Electro Ave.,[34][35][7] on ROIR records featuring the Road Rules.The track "Witchcraft", from Asphalt Jungle's 2002 album Electro Ave., became the theme song to MTV's 1998 season of Road Rules.[1]
In 2005 Enjoy This Trip,[36]Jungilzation,[37] was released by Cleopatra Records and featured the theme song "Tekken" from MTV's Road Rules Season 8 "Semester at Sea", charting Top 40 on the CMJ RPM charts. In 2006 Jungilzation and Bob Marley Remixed were released on Tarquin's label BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records distributed by Redeye. Jungilzation charted #25 on the CMJ RPM charts. The band dismantled, but after a long hiatus in 2018 Tarquin revived Asphalt Jungle as solo project and released an experimental album of heavy metal dubstep with Crazy Train.
During the pandemic lock down in 2020, Tarquin delved into the Lofi Jazz genre with his alter ego Asphalt Jungle. Persuaded by Rod Linnum aka "LoFi Rod", a fan of Brian's early Smooth Jazz releases, Tarquin successfully entered into the new format releasing a host of new singles through DashGo distribution. Brian states, "Lofi really reminds me of the Acid Jazz days when we were combining hip hop grooves with jazz progressions and overtones; adding cool horn riffs with clean guitar octaves ala Wes Montgomery." Singles as "Magna Fi", Sunshine in Her Eyes", "Acid Test" are popular among Spotify Studybeat lists.
Rock Instrumental 2008-Present
In 2008 Tarquin released his first rock instrumental solo album called "Fretwork" featuring Steve Morse, Billy Sheehan, Frank Gambale, Max Middleton, Randy Coven, Will Ray, Andy Timmons, Hal Lindes and Chuck Loeb. It was dedicated to the 911 victims and Friends of Firefighters organization. The following year he released "El Becko: A Jeff Beck Salute" [38] and "Brian Tarquin Collection" [39] for nuGroove Records. Brian, then, developed the guitar series "Brian Tarquin & Heavy Friends" [40] which began with the 2014 release of "Guitars for Wounded Warriors" [41] on Cleopatra Records. The album featured guest appearances by Billy Sheehan, Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal, Reb Beach, Chris Poland, Gary Hoey, Alex De Rosso, Hal Lindes, Chuck Loeb and Steve Morse. This was benefit album raising awareness for veterans and driving donations to the Fisher House Foundation.
In 2017, horrified at the Pulse Nightclub Shooting in Orlando, Tarquin composed, engineered and produced the album "Orlando in Heaven" [42][43] featuring jazz icon Larry Coryell on two tracks along with Mike Stern, Tony Franklin, Hal Lindes, Denny Jiosa, Will Ray, Chris Poland and vocalist Phil Naro. The album charted #6 on the Jam Band charts. It benefitted the Catholic Charities of Central Florida who provided case management and support services for victims and family members of the Pulse Shooting in Orlando. In 2019 Orlando in Heaven received a Global Music Gold Award for "Best Album". This same year saw Tarquin produce the rock vocal album "Band of Brothers" dedicated to veterans featuring Joel Hoekstra, Steve Morse, Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal, Gary Hoey, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, vocalist Phil Naro and cellist Tina Guo. The album charted #21 on the Metal Contraband charts. This was followed up by the 2020 release "Vegas Blue" which once again teamed him up with vocalist Phil Naro, dedicated to the shooting victims at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas October 1, 2017. Tarquin composed and produced each of these tracks featuring special guests Tony Carey ex-Rainbow keyboardist, Steve Morse, Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal, Trey Gunn, Hal Lindes.[44]
In 2023 Tarquin released Brothers In Arms[45] with guest guitarists Joe Satriani, Vinnie Moore, Alex De Rosso, Travis Stever, Jeff Duncan, Johannes Weik, Gerald Gradwohl, Chris Haskett, Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal. The album is dedicated to those military soldiers who have fought for their country bringing awareness to the Fisher House Foundation, who supplies housing to veterans' families while they are hospitalized. It was well received by metal radio charting #7 on the NACC Loud Rock charts and #11 on the Metal Contraband charts in February 2023.
His 2024 release, "Beyond The Warrior's Eyes" included a collaboration of the album's title cut with electric violinist Jean Lucy Ponty, which yielded an A.I. Music video that found acclaim and a nomination for a Joisy Award. The Budapest Symphony Orchestra contributed to an instrumental "A Soldier's Eyes;" that featured guest guitar work from Steve Kindler. Guitarists on the album included Robben Ford, Carl Verheyen, Eric Johnson, Chris Poland, and Steve Morse who contributed to two songs including a song "These Colors Don't Run" that featured vocals from the late Phil Naro.[46] The album helped raise funds and awareness for Washington, DC's Hope For the Veterans.[47]
BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records
In 2006, Tarquin opened his own boutique record label called BHP Music/Guitar Trax Records,[18] specializing in instrumental guitar music. The label releases the Guitar Master Series featuring legends: Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth and Zakk Wylde. Initially they were distributed by Redeye distribution for physical releases, but as physical product became less popular the label exclusively went to digital distribution by IODA/The Orchard, Symphonic and Dashgo. At first Brian licensed music to release on the label from his various contacts in the music industry and directly from artists. He eventually moved on to compose, engineer and produce the releases hiring guest artists to be featured on each track. As of 2023 the label contained 94 releases including music videos.
Simultaneously Tarquin built Jungle Room Studios where he records many of the releases for his record label. Jungle Room is an extensive analog/digital studio featuring a such classic analog gear as 1986 British Trident 24 recording console, Otari MTR 90, Ampex 440c analog tape machines and various analog outboard gear. As of 2018 Jungle Room Studios is a mobile recording studio housed in a 28-foot custom made trailer. It was designed in Southern California equipped with 2 separate rooms, a live room and a control room. All of the releases for the label have been primarily recorded at Jungle Room Studios throughout the years.
Equipment
During the Smooth Jazz era Tarquin primarily used a Fender pink paisley telecaster reissue with custom wound Seymour Duncan pick-ups [48] through a Fender Blackface Twin reverb and a Carvin Belair 212 Tube Guitar Combo Amp. He then moved to using a 1978 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Deluxe for "High Life" and Asphalt Jungle recordings through a Marshall JCM 2000 through a Carvin Legacy 4x12 cabinet. However, for the Lofi recordings he used a 2011 Gibson Midtown Standard with P90's and a Sire Larry Carlton H7 through a 1969 Fender Super Reverb.
Primarily for the rock instrumental albums he used a 1997 Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop, 1983 Kramer Baretta Super Strat and a Custom Fender Strat with Seymour Duncan Blackout single coils. His amps consist of a Marshall Plexi Head with Mark Cameron Modified High Gain with a 1975 Marshall 4 x 12" cabinet with vintage Celestion 30's, 1984 Marshall JCM800 2x12 combo, 1979 Mesa Boogie Mark IIb 1x12 combo, a Fender Prosonic and an Orange Dark Terror with an Orange 2x12 cabinet. Tarquin uses various pedals as the Dunlop Univibe, Snarling Dogs Super Bawl Whine-O Wah, Morley Classic Wah, Dunlop Talkbox and the DigiTech Whammy Pedal.[49]
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Tarquin has been noted in using analog technology recording guitar amplifiers with microphones as Beyerdynamics M160 Ribbon, Royer R101 and a SE RT1-Ribbon Tube Microphone. Also using Rupert Neve 5043 Duo Compressor/Limiter on the guitar tracks. He also endorses Chris Yetter's Audio Scape 76A Compressor & Audio Scape 6386 EDITION V-COMP MU.
Personal life
Tarquin was married in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2000 to Melissa Demafeliz; the marriage ended in 2022 to divorce. He has 3 children Liam Tarquin, Brianna Katherine and Bridget Bette. Tarquin is a devoted Roman Catholic and has donated to various Catholic causes. He is an avid classic movie collector and motorcycle enthusiast. Upon graduation of high school, he won honor awards for Ceramics and English. Tarquin has made several of his own guitars and used them on recordings through the years. He was close to his maternal grandmother Katherine Pema, an immigrant from Albania. Katherine helped raise him and lived with the family on and off for the first 18 years of his life. He has resided in Studio City, CA., New York and Cape Canaveral, FL.[50]
Publications and radio
Books
Recording Techniques of the Guitar Masters[51][52]
Stomp on This! The Guitar Pedal Effects Guidebook[60][61]
Survival Guide For Music Composers: Tools of the Trade to Get Paid![62]
Magazine columns
In 2017-2018 Tarquin wrote a series of recording studio articles for Guitar Player magazine. In 2010 he was a regular contributor to Recording Magazine, and in 2007 he wrote a monthly column called "Guitar Studio" for Premier Guitar Magazine.[1] The column focused on studio techniques for musicians and recording engineers. Tarquin also conducted interviews of musicians for the magazine.[63][64]
2014 USA Best Book Awards Performing Arts Winner for Guitar Encyclopedia[58]'*2018 USA Best Book Awards Performing Arts Winner for Survival Guide for Music Composers: Tools of the Trade to Get Paid![77]
2018 American Book Fest – Best Book (Performing Arts) Survival Guide for Music Composers (Hal Leonard)
^Tarquin, Brian (1 July 2024). "Independence Day 2024: Born on the Fourth of July". APM Indie Artists. APM Music. Retrieved 28 December 2024. This year, he launched the album, Beyond the Warriors Eyes to support the Hope For The Warriors Foundation, ...
