T.J. Rehmi

The world's music has been blended into the unique guitar playing of T.J. Rehmi. A self-taught jazz/blues guitarist who learned to play tunes by Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, and Santana by ear, Rehmi has gone on to play a wide spectrum of music. An active participant in England's Asian Underground, he has played Indian classical music, Indo-Jazz fusion, bhangra music, reggae, and African music. As a session player, he was one of the first musicians to apply reggae bass lines to bhangra music. While he has incorporated technological wizardry, including sampling and sequencing, Rehmi has balanced electronic gadgetry with organic instrumentation. His sound remains rooted in the traditional bass and drums structure. A native of Birmingham, England, Rehmi is the son of Asian immigrants. While he was initially drawn to western rock, he increasingly veered towards world music. He played with a series of local jazz-funk and reggae bands in the late '70s and with several bhangra bands in the 1980s and early '90s. A turning point in his musical development came when he met jazz saxophonist Andy Hamilton, who took him under his wing and taught him to read music. Rehmi subsequently studied Indian classical music and Indo-Jazz fusion with composer John Mayer. He further sharpened his skills while attending the Conservatory in Birmingham. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi