Jay Soto

Jay Soto五歲開始學鼓，七歲學古典鋼琴，但直到12歲才找到了自己最喜愛的樂器，吉他。自那以后，Jay Soto對音樂的興趣不斷增長。 2005年，Jay發行了他的第一張專輯《Long Time Coming》，隨后2007年，又發行了第二張專輯《Stay Awhile》。2009年，Jay帶來了闊別兩年的全新大碟《Mesmerized》。 Award winning guitarist, Jay Soto draws upon a diverse background to form his unique style. Studying drums at age 5 and piano at age 7, Soto picked up his favorite instrument, guitar, at age 12. His early years were diverse with sound, ranging from Beethoven to Church hymns. All this exposure amounted to an early obsession for the pursuit of music. He continued his education as a young adult at Arizona State University. A consummate player and an accomplished composer/arranger, with song placement on such mega hit shows as "Sex and the City" (HBO) and "All About US" (NBC). He’s also a favorite on the Weather Channel. He was also the grand finalist in Guitar Center’s “Guitarmageddon” Competition, the most respected guitar competition in the nation. He proved his talent immediately by winning the local, district and regional rounds and then made his way to the finals held at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, Texas where he played in front of over 15,000 people. In the end, Jay finished as one of the top unsigned guitarists in the nation. He is also a skilled vocalist and had the honor of singing the “Star Spangled Banner” for a presidential rally in 2004 at Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona. His memorable melodies and impeccable technique are evident in his successful debut release, Long Time Coming, which has received outstanding reviews from critics everywhere and has opened many doors for this young and fast rising star. His selfproduced debut caught the attention of producer greats, Jeff Lorber and Paul Brown who helped produce his sophomore release, Stay Awhile, released in 2007. Other producers on the album include Darren Rahn (Wayman Tisdale, Jonathan Butler) and Mario Mendivil (Nelson Rangell). With the likes of Jeffrey Osborne, Jeff Lorber, Michael Lington and Euge Groove on his release, Soto is in star-studded company and is catching the attention of Smooth Jazz fans everywhere with his fresh sound and impressive skills. Soto signed with the successful Smooth Jazz label, NuGroove Records in 2007, and his first single, Slammin', became a smash hit and reached #2 on the coveted, national R&R charts. His second hit and title cut, Stay Awhile, went to #19 on R&R. By year’s end, he finished as the 9th most played Smooth Jazz artist on the radio in the nation in 2008. In April of 2009, Soto released his most anticipated CD release to date, Mesmerized, and his first single, Groovalicious, is currently storming up the charts.