GUY STRAZZULLO
-A PROFILE-
Guy Strazzullo was born in September 1955 into a musical family and began playing the guitar at the age of ten. His first performance took place four years later at the Turin Rock Festival in Italy.
Duke Ellington, Vivaldi, Frank Zappa, Jobim, John Mayall, the Beatles and a few beautiful Italian songs constituted a great part of the music that he listened to during his early teens.
In 1971 he moved to London and lived with his older brother, himself a guitarist and pianist and studied with George Adie from the Royal Academy of Music and made a living as guitarist/bassist playing clubs, pubs and restaurants.
He then travelled to Australia and studied music with Vera Tancibudek in Adelaide as well as classical guitar with John Della Torres.
Having completed the jazz course at the N.S.W. Conservatorium in 1982 he joined Nigel Westlake's Magic Puddin’ band as guitarist/ composer; a role which was continued with his own band In Focus, alongside composer/drummer Phil Treloar.
In 1984 pianist Roger Frampton invited Guy to join his band "Intersection" for a Musica Viva tour of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, participating at the Yatra Jazz Festival in Bombay and New Dehli; the same band was featured on the A.B.C. "Burrows Collection."
As a member of the Bruce Cale Orchestra, Live at the Basement featuring American tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts they recorded two L.P.'s.
A performance with South African born singer Trudy Aspellir for Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Sydney Uniting Church in 1987 was one of the spiritual highlights of Guy's life.
As a teacher he has taught music at the Aboriginal Island Dance Theatre in Sydney and recorded on the A.B.C. radio show, "Jazz Track" as well as Radio East Sydney. (Six Rumanian Dances by B. Bartok and one of his own classical guitar pieces: Southern Dance with fellow guitarist John Garrick.)
Television credits include appearances on the A.B.C., S.B.S. and Channel 9.
