Johannes Linstead (also records under the name Sevaji) is a Canadian guitarist and instrumentalist who fuses virtuoso Spanish-style guitar with

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

percussion and instrumentation. In 2017, Linstead was awarded the "Best World Album of the Year" in the T.I.M.A Awards (Toronto Independent Music Awards). He has/had an influential artist endorsement deal with the

Yamaha Corporation is a Japanese multinational musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer. It is one of the constituents of Nikkei 225 and is the world's largest musical instrument manufacturing company. The former motorcycle division was establishe ...

of America and an endorsee with D'Addario String Co.. Further accolades include being named "Guitarist of the Year" in the prestigious Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards (2007), two NAR Lifestyle Music Awards, a nomination for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

and others.

Early years

Johannes Linstead began studying guitar at age eight, when he was given a guitar for his birthday. As he progressed, he gravitated to the classical guitar; the only music he was exposed to as a child. In his teens, however, he also developed a love for other styles, such as rock,

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. Popular composers and guitarists which have impacted Linstead as a musician include Sor, Tarrega, Giuliani,

Randy Rhoads Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albu ...

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...

, Jorge Strunz, Sabicas,

Paco de Lucia Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as (father of the community); ...

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

, John McLaughlin and Angel Romero. In high school he joined the school's jazz band and won the "Musician of the Year" award – the first of many awards and recognitions he has since earned. Further influences in his music come from travel across the globe, including India, Bahrain, Spain, Cuba, Mexico, and at least two dozen others. In his early twenties Linstead studied Hung Gar Kung Fu with Dr. Jopet Laraya but after 8 years of practice had to quit in order to prevent damage to his hands during brutal training. He went on to practice Qi Gong and studied with renowned grandmaster Weizhou Wu from China for many years until his death in 2006. In an effort to deepen his spiritual practice Linstead began studying Kundalini yoga in 2001 and became a KRI certified instructor. Linstead was bestowed the name Seva Singh or "Lion of Devotional Service" by Kundalini yoga master Yogi Bhajan. The name Sevaji is derived from "Seva" meaning devotional service, and "ji", a term of respect. Since becoming a certified Kundalini Yoga instructor, he teaches whenever his tour schedule permits. In the autumn 2006, Linstead contributed his song "Journey To Alcazaba" to the album project Artists for Charity – Guitarists 4 the Kids, produced by Slang Productions, to assist World Vision Canada in helping underprivileged kids in need. In the winter of 2006, Johannes founded Divine Earth, an online humanitarian community where members post information about spirituality, health, and world politics. The philosophy of Divine Earth is that in order to attain a happier and healthy world we must first understand what substandard conditions exist that undermine the individual's ability to find inner peace.

Selected recordings

* ''Azul'' (2017) winner of "Best World Album" in the Toronto Independent Music Awards; Top ten on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Most Added charts in the US; #1 on SmoothJazz.com most added; * ''Midnight Rhumba'' (2014) winner of "Best World Album" and the "People's Choice" award in the OWMR Awards in the UK; No. 10 on the Billboard New Age charts in the US; nominated for "Best World Album" and "Best Instrumental Album – Acoustic" ZMR Music Awards. * ''Tales of a Gypsy'' (2012) No. 1 on eMusic.com Flamenco/Tango charts; nominated for 3 ZMR Music Awards. * ''Mistico'' (2009) No. 1 on eMusic.com World Music and Jazz/Blues charts; winner of "Best World Album" and "Best Instrumental Album – Acoustic" in the ZMR Awards, * ''Encanto'' (Johannes Linstead and Nicholas Gunn) (2007) ranked No. 6 on Billboard's New Age Chart, 3 nominations in the NAR Lifestyle Music awards, nominated "Best Latin Album" in the IAP Awards. * ''Cafe Tropical'' (2006) ranked No. 4 on Billboard's New Age chart, No. 1 on eMusic.com World Music chart, winner "Best Music" from Best Magazine, JUNO nominated for "Best Instrumental Album". * ''Mediterranea'' (2004), ranked in the Top Ten on Billboard's New Age chart, reaching the No. 6 position and won "Best World Album" in the NAR Lifestyle Music Awards. * ''Zabuca'' (2003), ranked Top Ten, and charted for 34 weeks. The song "Eleni" from this album was heard as part of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Stéphane Lambiel Stéphane Lambiel (born 2 April 1985) is a Swiss former competitive figure skater who now works as a coach and choreographer. He is a two-time (2005–2006) World champion, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time (2005, 2007) Grand Prix ...

's performance in the 2004

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

. * ''Guitarra del Fuego'' (2001) was named "Best Contemporary World Album" by NAV Magazine, charting on Billboard for 36 weeks. * ''Kiss the Earth'' (2000) 9 weeks on Billboard's New Age Chart, peak #12. * ''Sol Luna Tierra'' (1999) 3 weeks on Billboard's New Age Chart, peak #17.

JUNO Awards nominations

2007: Instrumental Album of the Year: Café Tropical, Nominated: Johannes Linstead Total Nominations: 1
Juno Awards Artist Summary Johannes Linstead

Discography

Studio albums

* 1999 - ''Sol Luna Tierra'' * 2000 - ''Kiss the Earth'' * 2001 - ''Guitarra del Fuego'' * 2003 - ''Zabuca'' * 2004 - ''Mediterranea'' * 2006 - ''Café Tropical'' (Nominated for a

for "Instrumental Album of the Year") * 2009 - ''Mistico'' * 2012 - ''Tales of a Gypsy'' * 2014 - ''Midnight Rhumba'' * 2017 - ''Azul'' * 2021 - ''Bohemian Strings''

As featured artist

* 2006 - ''We Three Strings'' (Johannes Linstead, Bryan Lubeck, Tomas Michaud) * 2007 - ''Encanto'' (Johannes Linstead and Nicholas Gunn) * 2008 - ''Live!'' (

David Arkenstone David Arkenstone (born July 1, 1952) is an American composer and performer. His music is primarily instrumental, with occasional vocalizations. Most of Arkenstone's music falls into new age category; however, he also worked in other genres, inclu ...

, Nicholas Gunn, Johannes Linstead and

Loren Gold Loren Gold is an American keyboardist, vocalist, music director, and songwriter. Gold is a keyboardist and vocalist for the Who and Chicago (band), Chicago. In addition, Gold has been the touring keyboardist and backup vocalist for Roger Daltrey ...

) * 2010 - ''Dreams Go By'' (features Monica Fedrigo on Cello) * 2011 - ''Everlasting Joy – Music for Yoga'' (Sevara feat. Johannes Linstead)

Other compilation appearances

* 2002 - ''Camino Latino / Latin Journey – Liona Maria Boyd'' (Moston) * 2002 - ''Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco – Volume II'' ( Baja/TSR Records) * 2006 - ''Bolero Gypsies: New Flamenco – Volume II'' ( Bolero Records) * 2013 - ''Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco – Volume III'' ( Baja/TSR Records)

References

External links

*
Johannes Linstead
on

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Utilizing a music recommender system known as "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm creates a detailed profile of each user's musical preferences by recording the details of the tracks they ...

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

*
Johannes Linstead on Real Music

* ttps://www.emusic.com/artist/rs_251261/Johannes-Linstead Johannes Linstead's eMusic page
Sevaji

Divine Earth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linstead, Johannes Canadian classical guitarists Canadian male guitarists Living people Musicians from Toronto Latin jazz guitarists Canadian male jazz musicians Year of birth missing (living people)