Julian Smith (born 21 April 1969 from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

) is an English

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

and music teacher from

, England. He is also known by his stage name Joolz Gianni. He has made guest appearances alongside artists such as

Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the New wave music, new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley retur ...

(

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet ( ) were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids (New Romantics), ...

), Gwen Dickey (

Rose Royce Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B group. They are best known for several hit singles during the 1970s including " Car Wash", " I Wanna Get Next to You", " I'm Going Down", " Wishing on a Star", and " Love Don't Live Here Anymore". Career ...

Hamish Stuart James Hamish Stuart (born 8 October 1949) is a Scottish guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer. He was an original member of the Average White Band. Biography Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Stuart attended Queens Park School ...

and

Steve Ferrone Stephen A. Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Aver ...

(

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) was a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They were best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their alb ...

), and has performed on national television together with

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is a British Rock music, rock and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist from Middlesbrough. Known for his distinctive voice and his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty-five studio albums, ...

M People M People (stylised as ''M''People) are an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is derived from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering, who f ...

, and

Dina Carroll Geraldine "Dina" Carroll (born 21 August 1968) is an English singer. She had a string of hits during the 1990s, including the UK top ten singles "It's Too Late (Carole King song)#Quartz version, It's Too Late" (1991), "Don't Be a Stranger (Din ...

. In 2003, he released a solo album, ''Chilled 2 the Sax'', which features

Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was an English clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistco ...

, and

Ola Onabule Ola Onabulé is a British-Nigerian singer-songwriter. Background Ola Onabulé was born in Islington, London. At the age of seven he moved to Lagos, Nigeria, where he spent the next ten years in school. At seventeen he returned to the UK to ...

. Smith became better known after appearing on the

third series Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'' in 2009 and finished in third place behind singer

Susan Boyle Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer who rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of '' Britain's Got Talent'', singing " I Dreamed a Dream" from '. As of 2021, Boyle has sold 25 ...

and winning dance troupe

Diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

Early life and education

Julian Smith is a native of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. His father was a music teacher, which allowed Smith to learn a variety of instruments as a child, including the clarinet. He attended the

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly research and docto ...

(then Birmingham School of Music / Birmingham Conservatoire) where he studied

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

as his first study instrument with second study saxophone. He graduated with distinction in 1991. After graduating from the Conservatoire, Smith focused more on the saxophone.

Career

Early career

Early in his career, Smith held teaching jobs with both Sandwell College and Cheltenham College. He also made guest appearances on records for Tony Hadley, and Hamish Stuart and performed live on national television with acts like Chris Rea, M People, and Dina Carroll. In 1993, Smith formed a band and eventually began operating under the stage name Joolz Gianni. Some of his tracks were featured on Sony Music's Classic Chillout compilation series from between 2001 and 2003. In 2003, he released a solo album as Joolz Gianni entitled Chilled 2 the Sax, which featured Acker Bilk, Dina Carroll, and Ola Onabule. After releasing his album Throughout This Time, he continued teaching music privately and playing small gigs.

Britain's Got Talent

In April 2009, Smith first appeared on an episode of the third series of Britain's Got Talent. During the audition round, he performed a version of "Somewhere" from the musical, West Side Story, on soprano saxophone. The audition received a standing ovation from the audience and praise from judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan, and Amanda Holden. Smith was subsequently chosen to be among the 40 semi-finalists who would perform live in May 2009. During his semi-final performance, Smith played a rendition of "All by Myself" and advanced to the final round by winning the public vote. For the final round on 30 May 2009, he played another rendition of "Somewhere," receiving around 700,000 votes(16.4% of the total vote) and placing as the second runner-up behind singer Susan Boyle and winning dance troupe Diversity. Smith later performed alongside the other 9 finalists on the nationwide Britain's Got Talent live tour in June 2009.

Post-Britain's Got Talent

In the ensuing years, Smith released several albums through Big Bear Records, including Somewhere and Christmas Songs and Lullabies (both in 2010). That year, he played a headlining gig at the Birmingham International Jazz and Blues Festival, was featured on the charitable single "The Prayer" for Classical Relief for Haiti, and toured with The Stylistics. He also performed a duet with Kenny G at the Royal Albert Hall and played for Prince Charles at Clarence House. In 2011, he went on a 48-date tour throughout the United Kingdom, and in 2012, he toured with Diversity on their "Digitized" tour. Smith continued touring throughout 2013, including a show with the winner of the first series of The X Factor, Steve Brookstein. In 2015, he independently released a new album, Wonderful World. In 2017, he toured the United States and Canada before returning to England where he performed a new concert series at St. Stephen's Church in Redditch. On New Year's Eve in 2020, Smith started a Zoom-based concert series. The shows, which are virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, feature various young performers playing multiple genres of music. Proceeds from the events were donated to the National Health Service.

Personal life

Smith has two children with his wife Iraz and said that he entered Britain's Got Talent to "make life better for them".

Discography

Studio album

Compilation appearances

References

External links

* *
''Joolz Gianni'' at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Julian Living people English jazz saxophonists English rock saxophonists English classical saxophonists English classical bassoonists English classical clarinetists British male saxophonists Britain's Got Talent contestants People from Halesowen 1969 births 21st-century British saxophonists 21st-century British male musicians Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Alumni of the Birmingham School of Music