Brian Tarquin

Brian Tarquin, an Emmy-winning guitarist, has built a diverse career spanning roles as a recording artist, composer, author, engineer, and studio owner. Although recognized for his flexible, cross-genre style, he first drew notice through a run of adult contemporary instrumental jazz releases such as Last Kiss Goodbye in 1997, Soft Touch in 1999, and High Life in 2001. The 1997 compilation The Best of Acid Jazz, Vol. 2 placed him in the Top 20 of Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart, while his overall credits stretch across more than 40 albums and exceed 140,000 units sold. Expanding into screen composition, he earned multiple Emmy Awards for ABC’s All My Children and placed original cues in MTV’s Road Rules, CSI, 24, 20/20, Pawn Stars, Extra, TMZ, Alias, and additional programs. He has written several instructional books covering guitar technique, production methods, and the music industry. In addition to solo work, he has issued all-star tribute albums—Guitars for Wounded Warriors in 2014, Orlando in Heaven in 2017, and Guitars for Veterans in 2018—each receiving Independent Music Award nominations.

Born in New York, New York in 1965, Tarquin studied at the Mannes School of Music and SUNY New Paltz University before completing audio-engineering training at the Center for the Media Arts. Early professional experience included producer and engineer positions at New York facilities such as Electric Lady, followed by composition and engineering duties at Look & Company, a commercial-jingle house. He later relocated to Los Angeles, engineering at Powerhouse Studios and holding posts at both Restless Records and Virgin.

While continuing to create library music, Tarquin secured a deal in 1995 with the MCA-distributed Jazz Inspiration imprint and issued his debut, the adult contemporary instrumental jazz album Ghost Dance, the next year. He then moved to Instinct Records for the acid-jazz-inflected Last Kiss Goodbye in 1997. That same year The Best of Acid Jazz, Vol. 2 reached the Top 20 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart, and he contributed to other Instinct titles including Sweet Emotions and Bossa Brava: Caliente. Further groove-oriented releases followed, notably Soft Touch in 1999 and High Life in 2001, many of which appeared in the Top Ten on Smooth Jazz Radio’s R&R and Gavin charts.

Teaming with longtime collaborator Chris Ingram, Tarquin formed the electronic-jazz-rock duo Asphalt Jungle. Their track “Witchcraft,” from the 2002 album Electro Ave., became the theme for MTV’s Road Rules, and the pair supplied a second theme, “Tekken,” for the program’s following season. Tarquin’s television scoring work accelerated from that point; he collected multiple Emmy Awards for All My Children and placed music in Cheers, Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, Seinfeld, 24, and numerous other series.

In the early 2000s he established Jungle Room Studio and founded the instrumental-guitar label BHP Music/Guitar Trax. The imprint issued several of his own projects as well as the Guitar Masters compilations, which showcased Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Joe Satriani, and Zakk Wylde, among others, and additional sessions featuring Steve Morse, Frank Gambale, and Billy Sheehan. In 2010 Tarquin produced bassist Randy Coven’s album Nu Groove, which included guitar contributions from Leslie West.

Alongside production duties, Tarquin began writing a monthly “Guitar Studio” column for Premier Guitar in 2007. He later authored multiple USA Best Book Award-winning volumes, among them Recording Techniques of the Guitar Masters in 2012, Stomp on This: The Guitar Pedal Effects Guidebook in 2015, and Survival Guide for Music Composers in 2017. He also hosts the Guitar Trax radio program on WFIT 89.5 FM in Florida’s Space Coast region, conducting extended interviews with prominent artists.

Under the Brian Tarquin & Heavy Friends banner he released the benefit album Guitars for Wounded Warriors in 2014, featuring Gary Hoey, Steve Morse, and Billy Sheehan. Orlando in Heaven appeared in 2017 as a tribute to the Pulse nightclub shooting victims and included performances by Larry Coryell, Mike Stern, Tony Franklin, Bobby Baldwin, and Phil Naro. That year also saw Band of Brothers, another veterans tribute containing appearances by Jeff Scott Soto, Bumblefoot, Trey Gunn, Jeff Watson, Joel Hoekstra, and Gary Hoey, in addition to Naro and Morse. The all-star Smooth Jazz Cafe followed in 2019 with contributions from Chuck Loeb, Frank Gambale, and Denny Jiosa.