Charlie Lid Bio

Charlie Lid



Smooth Jazz Artist – Guitarist - Composer





Born in Tacoma, WA and raised in Los Gatos, CA, Charlie Lid began playing guitar at the age of 12 when he traded a rare and valuable Jimi Hendrix poster for his first guitar and 6 months of lessons. 3 years later he formed his first band and started playing professional gigs around the San Jose area. Charlie rapidly became an important member of a highly respected circle of musicians in the area and was soon in great demand; playing with up to four different ensembles during the same period. During this time his natural talents as a composer began to emerge under the guidance of a series of private instructors.



Keen to elevate his formidable skills even further, Charlie entered college to begin studying for his associates degree in music composition which he succesfully completed in 1984. Gradually he began to outgrow some of the most experienced teachers in the area. In fact, it was his last mentor who asked him to “stand in” for a gig which secretly turned out to be audition for The Jazzmen. Charlie aced the audition and became a core member of the group for the next four years. The Jazzmen soon developed a devoted fan base around Northern California and were widely recognized as being one of the first bands to fuse the unlikely disciplines of hip-hop with traditional be-bop and jazz fusion to form an innovative and original new style.



While playing cutting-edge fusion with an accomplished and popular band allowed Charlie to elevate his improvisational and sight-reading skills to new heights, the composer inside him gradually began to feel restricted by simply re-working other people’s songs and, since cover tunes were the band’s staple diet, there was simply no room for Charlie to grow as a composer in that environment. He and the Jazzmen parted ways in 1992.



Charlie retreated to his newly completed home studio and, still keen to optimize his craft, he sought out the most respected jazz educator in town and began focusing all his energy on composing his own original material. Drawing on all his experiences up to this point, the music he created was a eclectic blend of jazz, R n’ B and the soulful pop stylings of the day. Although he was writing prolifically during this period, there was no established market for the kind of soulful jazz-pop-blues material that he was producing and Charlie’s formidable archive of compositions remained unheard for almost 10 years.



The new millenium found Charlie living in Arizona, finding not only a new circle of appreciative musicians keen to praise his work but also a rapidly emerging new genre of music – “Smooth Jazz”. Realizing that the music industry and the listening public were finally starting to embrace exactly the kind of music he had been writing for over a decade, Charlie began to present his work to musicians, producers and promoters and soon found the kind of enthusiastic encouragement he needed to finally take his passion into the studio.



The subsequent recording sessions which produced the 12 tracks that make up “Poolside” show Charlie Lid to be not only a versatile all-around composer but also a virtuoso guitarist who feels effortlessly at home in a variety of musical genres; from the Santana-esque latin-rock jewel “El Diablo Mujer”, to the “in-the-pocket” smooth jazz stylings evident in “Thoughts Of You” and the sweet, lilting vocal of “Oh Marie”.



In “Poolside”, we find the results of Charlie’s own musical journey presented as one beautifully crafted whole. This collection of original songs provides a wealth of musical depth without being so self-indulgent as to isolate the casual listener. Charlie Lid has arrived, and it’s been well worth the wait!