Julian Smith – X Factor, Solo Saxophonist
Julian has played professionally with his own band since May 1993. He has also played as a special guest alongside artistes such as Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet), Gwen Dickey (Rose Royce) and Hamish Stuart (Average White Band). Julian has performed on national T.V. together with Chris Rea, M People and Dina Carroll.Acker Bilk, Dina Carroll and Ola Onabule have all featured with Joolz on his solo album ‘Chilled 2 The Sax’.
Joolz had tracks on all of the CDs in the multi-platinum selling ‘Classic Chillout’ series from Sony Music, and was subsequently offered his own five album record deal.
With his own band he has played on many well-known stages, including the Birmingham Symphony Hall and the world famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club (London and Birmingham). In the Corporate sector he has played at many prestigious events, including new model launches for Aston Martin, Porsche and BMW.His music crosses many genres including classical, jazz, soul, blues, funk and pop.
As a saxophonist, Joolz’ inspirations are Kenny G, David Sanborn, Candy Dulfer and Kirk Whalum, but most important to him is a strong melody, making the music easy to listen to and so appealing to a wide audience.
When seeing Joolz perform live with his accomplished and very polished band you are guaranteed high quality live music. With showmanship from all band members, and especially Joolz’ charismatic interaction with the audience, you will be visually captivated too. Joolz clearly enjoys entertaining audiences as only he knows how, and is not just ‘another sax player’. His performances often include the esoteric art of circular breathing (holding a single note for many minutes) which is always a ‘breathtaking moment’ and a great crowd pleaser!
