JIM STUBBLEFIELD

MAIN INSTRUMENTS: Acoustic and Electric Guitar
OTHER INSTRUMENTS: Electric Bass, Mandolin, Violin, Arabic Oud, and Charango

JIM STUBBLEFIELD, a native Californian, began playing guitar seriously in high school where he studied rock guitar styles with world renowned transcriber WOLF MARSHALL. He then went on to study jazz guitar with well known jazz educator JODY FISHER (known for his books with ALFRED PUBLISHING). During his college years JIM'S guitar influences included jazz guitarists AL DI MEOLA and JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, rockers YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ALEX LIFESON, and STEVE MORSE as well as country guitarist ALBERT LEE.

After graduating from college and GIT (Hollywood, CA), JIM was introduced to Kuwaiti oud player WALEED HAMAD. While writing and performing with WALEED, JIM became enthralled by the acoustic guitar and began listening to artists such as SHAKTI, STRUNZ AND FARAH, and VICENTE AMIGO.

After playing in various rock and fusion bands and releasing several CDs, JIM released the nylon string acoustic guitar driven "CITIES OF GOLD" which was named as a semi-finalist in that year's DISC MAKERS INDEPENDENT MUSIC COMPETITION. It was then followed by 1998's "RHYTHM OF THE HEART" recorded by the JIM STUBBLEFIELD GROUP. This recording was a semi-finalist in the NAV MAGAZINE'S "ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR" category for 1999.JIM'S music also appears on Neurodisc's "PURE FLAMENCO: NUEVO FLAMENCO PASSION" compilation along with such artists as OTTMAR LIEBERT and GOVI.

In late 1999 JIM co-founded the Latin guitar oriented world music group INCENDIO with bassist LIZA CARBE' and guitarist JEAN-PIERRE DURAND. Their recordings "MISTERIOSO" (Natural Elements), "ILLUMINATION" (Paras Recordings), "INTIMO" (Incendio Music), "INCENDIO" (New World Music), "DIA Y NOCHE" (Incendio Music), and "SEDUCTION" (New World Music) have gone on to sell tens of thousands nationally and appear in the BILLBOARD, NAV and CMJ charts. JIM'S music can also be heard on HGTV, ESPN, the SHOWTIME series RE:EVOLUTION OF SPORTS, the HISTORY CHANNEL show MODERN MARVELS, the WB show ELIMIDATE, THE GIRLS NEXT DOOR and many other network television shows.

A romantic and mysterious journey into a world of scorching yet sensual exotic melodies and tantalizing rhythms, "GUITARRA EXOTICA" draws fire from JIM STUBBLEFIELD'S love for the Andalusian music of Southern Spain, but also incorporates distinctive vibes from Eastern European music and the Middle East. With stirring pieces like “La Selva Negra” and “El Vaquero,” the infectious rumba rhythms will transport the listener to South America. The bulerías inspired “Gitana Mora” and the tangos-inspired “One Quiet Night” draw influences from the wonderful flamenco rhythms of Andalucía. The hypnotic belly dance rhythms of “Eye of the Sun” create a cool contrast to the Eastern European sound of “A Gypsy's Kiss.”

“I think I can blame my mother for making this California boy fall in love with so many forms of music from across the world,” STUBBLEFIELD says. “Long before I picked up the guitar around age eight, she was sharing MILES DAVIS and JOHN COLTRANE with me, and then ANDRE SEGOVIA and British lutenist and classical guitarist JULIAN BREAM. From the time I was a teenager, my life was all about traveling. Staying every summer with families in different European countries like Finland and England, and also Russia, I immersed myself in these cultural melting pots and discovered the music not only of those places but also the music of the Middle East."

“My travels have also included Barcelona and Malaga where I got my Pedro Maldonado guitar, and parts of Portugal. Traveling this much made me realize that there is so much music in the world that's not exposed to us in the U.S. by our mass media. Part of my mission with INCENDIO and my solo work, including "GUITARRA EXOTICA", is to expose people to the wealth of world music out there. People will embrace it if they are exposed to it. I have to admit I'm a culture junkie—I can spin the globe and anyplace I put my finger down, I want to learn more about that place and its people and music!”

Because STUBBLEFIELD contributes numerous compositions to INCENDIO'S projects, there is definite crossover stylistically between his work with them and his solo albums—in fact, INCENDIO developed after JP DURAND and LIZA CARBE' contributed to one of the guitarist's discs in the late 90s. The music on "GUITARRA EXOTICA" has a rich, fun and cohesive ensemble feel created by the same musicians appearing with STUBBLEFIELD on almost every track. The collection features bassists RANDY TICO and RUBEN RAMOS; percussionist BRYAN BROCK; and famed violist NOVI NOVOG; the fantastic ANNA STAFFORD plays violin in the live band.

“As a working musician, it's great to have so many different experiences all the time and work in unique ensembles where you're creating dialogues between all of these different personalities,” he says. "I'm really excited about doing more shows with ANNA, BRYAN and RUBEN because every musical situation helps me discover something new about myself. And nothing is better than performing for an audience that really appreciates the music we're playing. I love writing a new song and then getting that instant positive feedback and excitement that only happens in a live setting. It's going to be fun playing the music of "GUITARRA EXOTICA" for everyone.”

NYLON-STRING GUITARS:
2001 Pedro Maldonado Flamenco Blanca with LR Baggs Hex Pickup
2003 Pedro Maldonado Flamenco Negra with RMC Pickup
Alvarez CY128CE Classical

ACOUSTIC STEEL-STRING GUITARS:
James Goodall Grand Concert  

ELECTRIC GUITARS:
Paul Reed Smith Custom 24
Paul Reed Smith "Al D" Prism 

BASS GUITARS:
Fender American Standard Jazz Bass

MANDOLINS:
Weber Yellowstone Mandolin

OTHER STRINGED INSTRUMENTS:
German Violin (maker unknown)
Charango (maker unknown)
Arabic Oud by Viken Najarian 

AMPS, etc.:
Mesa Boogie Express 5:25 Guitar Amp
Mesa Boogie Mark V
Acoustic B20 Bass Amp
TC Electronics G-Natural Acoustic guitar processor

PICKS:
Dunlop Jazz III
V-Pick 

1. Strunz and Farah, "Primal Magic"
2. Yngwie Malmsteen, "Rising Force"
3. Genesis, "Wind and Wuthering"
4. UK, "In the Dead of Night"
5. Yes, "Fragile"
6. Iron Maiden, "Piece of Mind"
7. Peter Gabriel, "So"
8. Ozzy Osbourne, "Blizzard of Oz"
9. Black Sabbath, "Heaven and Hell"
10. Rush, "Signals"
11. Toy Matinee, "Toy Matinee"
12. Symphony X, "The Divine Wings of Tragedy"
13. Kansas, "Leftoverture"
14.  Dio, "Holy Diver"
15. Al Di Meola, "Elegant Gypsy"
16. Kamelot, "The Black Halo"
17. Led Zeppelin, "Physical Graffiti" 
18. Pink Floyd, "The Wall"
19.  Steely Dan, "Aja"
20. Bill Bruford, "Master Strokes" 

AS A SOLO ARTIST:
November (Natural Elements Records, 1994)
Cities of Gold (Natural Elements Records, 1997)
Rhythm of the Heart (Natural Elements Records, 1998)
Guitarra Exotica (Natural Elements Records, 2007)
Inspiracion (Natural Elements Records, 2010)

WITH INCENDIO:
Misterioso (Natural Elements Records, 2000)
Illumination (Paras Recordings, 2001)
Intimo (Incendio Music, 2003)
Incendio (New World Music, 2003)
Dia y Noche (Incendio Music, 2005)
Dia y Noche (Incendio Music, 2005) DVD
Seduction (New World Music, 2006)
Vihuela (Incendio Music, 2009)

OTHER RECORDINGS:
Natural Elements Sampler, Volume 1 (Natural Elements Records, 1994)
Pure Flamenco: Nuevo Flamenco Passion (Neurodisc, 1998)
The Voice of the Guitar (Natural Elements Records, 1998)
411 Around the World (411 Video Magazine) DVD
411 VM Issue #49 (411 Video Magazine) DVD
411 VM Issue #50 (411 Video Magazine) DVD
411 VM Issue #53 (411 Video Magazine) DVD
Girls Rip "a new era in women's surfing" (2005) DVD
Casa Music Presents: 32/The Best Part 15 

ANNA STAFFORD (4 and 5 string violin) ANNA'S credits include work with artists MARY J. BLIGE, LEANN RIMES, JOSH GROBIN, KANYE WEST and ANDREA BOCELLI. Recent performances with KELLY CLARKSON led ANNA to appearances on THE TONIGHT SHOW, THE EARLY SHOW, and GOOD MORNING AMERICA.

BRYAN BROCK (percussion) BRYAN'S love of music and culture has inspired travels throughout America, Cuba, and Ghana to study with percussion masters from African, Arabic, Brazilian, Cuban, and European musical traditions. BRYAN'S performance and recording experience includes: sessions for DR. DRE, INDIA ARIE, MACY GREY, and PIECES OF A DREAM and live performances with FRANKIE VALLI, JACKSON BROWNE, LEONARD COHEN, and INCENDIO.

RUBEN RAMOS (fretless bass & guitar) RUBEN has worked with THE TEN TENORS from Australia. He is a fantastic bassist and guitarist and has toured Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Great Britain, Japan and Korea. In 2004 he traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan entertaining the troops!