I worked with Brian on an award-winning documentary and his musical score was essential to its success.
I had originally picked a couple of commercial songs and wanted him to mimic those. He suggested letting him create something different but with the same emotional essence. I was hesitant but decided to let him try. Of course it turned out much better than my original choices and today I cannot imagine what the film would be like without Brian's music.
He is incredibly talented and a joy to work with. I recommend him with all my heart.
Jonas Klittmark, Independent Filmmaker www.klittmark.com
Brian is that rare kind of musician that has both great technical ability and the good taste not to view every measure as an opportunity to show off all that technique. He does what the music needs, no more, no less. Whether accompanying spoken word (as he did for A Ghost Story) or speaking through melody alone, Brian does an incredible job of finding the story within the music and bringing it out with rich and nuanced emotion. If you want a barrage of meaningless notes, look elsewhere, but if you want to tell a story through sound, talk to Brian Bloi.
---Music teacher, writer and storyteller Sarah Comer
Review by: Gregory Robson - AbsolutePunk.net - (08/25/09)
"..unique often Rhodes like rhythm guitar playing..."
Weather Pending - Review in Electronic Musician
"..in “Electricity” and “Complicated Two,” the nimble, unhurried fretwork of Brian Bloi drops notes like a sad summer rainfall..
Review by: Mike Gutierrez - QRO Magazine
"I've know Brian Bloi for 15 years. He is a friend and colleague. I had the pleasure of working with Brian in a band called "Bloi" (along with Fernando Arce) and still consider the music we made to be some of the best I have ever been involved with. Brian is a wonderful guitarist who has the ability to conjure up a sense of wonder when he plays. His style allows him to effortlessly "float and dance" around the melody and harmony of anything he plays.
I highly recommend Brian Bloi."
Stephen Joseph Antonelli Owner, Music Producer, Musician at SongBuilder Studios www.stephenjosephantonelli.com
"Have a conversation with Brian and you'll soon realize there is a dimension to music you didn't even know was there.
Brian’s teaching approach to music and his instrument are truly unique and inspirational, and he is a great guy to boot! If you are needing something different or if you just need to get your creative juices flowing again on a project that feels stagnant, make sure you talk to Brian...he'll get you going."
Fernando Arce: Musician and Sound Designer at Damselfly Music
"...sustained single note swells, like that of a steel guitar from Bloi that suggest crying...Opening track ‘Complicated Two’ opens with a characteristically awesome guitar riff and wastes little time before introducing Janie’s soulful, angelic voice tinged with sultry huskiness... Each track fuses a slightly different concoction of sounds together; be it jazz together with samba-esque rhythms and guitar, or electric bass alongside a virtually classic guitar style...The instrumentation indeed is commendable.
...Highly effective use of harmonics and beautiful cadences suggest Bloi was classically trained, and again the overall sound of the band benefits from his ear for melody either way."
Review by: D.S Wadeson, 21 July 2009 - www.thefourohfive.com
Book Review for: The Guitar in Color
Excellent guitar method! As a guitar player and teacher myself, I must say this is a wonderful book not only for beginners but to anyone willing to learn or review the foundations. The book covers a lot of valuable information and it's nicely laid out with a colorful approach.
Well done Brian!
Jazz Fingerstyle Guitarist