Martin Guigui

---

Martin Guigui
Born	Martin Isaac Guigui (1960-06-26) June 26, 1960 Buenos Aires, Argentina
🏳️ Nationality	Argentinian/American
💼 Occupation	Filmmaker, Musician and Music Producer
📆 Years active	1978–present
👩 Spouse(s)	Dahlia Waingort Guigui
👶 Children	Esther Guigui, Rebecca Guigui, Noah Guigui
🥚 Twitter	Twitter=

label65 = 👍 Facebook

Martin Guigui (Ghee-Ghee) is an Argentinian born Musician, Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Composer. He is also co-founder and President of Sunset Pictures.

Guigui has collaborated with a diverse array of high profile artists of the music industry.

In 2017, Guigui helped organize and direct the One America Appeal Concert Event hosted by former U.S. Presidents: Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. The event raised $45 Million dollars for hurricane relief in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

Early life

Guigui was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His father, Maestro Efrain Guigui, was a symphony orchestra conductor, his mother, Elena Guigui, an opera singer, and his sister Ana, a singer-songwriter, actress and music educator.

Guigui began playing music at the age of 4. His father mentored Guigui in theory and harmony studies early on. Guigui studied classical violin with Shirley Givens, piano with Bertha Odnoposoff, guitar with Ernesto Cordero, and also studied percussion throughout his childhood, eventually embracing the piano as his principle instrument.

When Guigui turned 10 years old, he made his professional concert debut performing Vivaldi’s Concerto for violin in D Major with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s Martin was raised in New York, Puerto Rico, and Vermont. The Guigui family spent their summers in Bennington where Martin’s father conducted the American Composer’s Conference and Martin played violin with the Green Mountain Fiddlers. Martin credits those early formative years as having a deep influence and lasting effect on his artistic choices as a creator. Martin was exposed to and interacted with the likes of John Cage, Milton Babbitt, and other legendary contemporary composers of the 20th century. The conceptual foundation of breaking musical rules within a 12-tone scale completely transformed Martin’s stylistic approach to creating, affecting both his musical and movie-making process.

Martin attended High School in Middlebury, Vermont, where he excelled as a basketball player, and began making experimental short films on the Super 8 format. Guigui embarked for New York on a scholarship to study film and music at Hofstra University, and although he did not complete his studies, years later in 2011 Hofstra awarded Guigui with the distinguished Estabrook Award for his career achievements.

Career

During the 1980’s Martin played keyboards in several bands in the New York tri-state area often sitting in with Little Buster & The Soul Brothers, the Long Island All-Stars, and his own group, which yielded the WNEW screamer of the week “King”. In the mid 1980’s Martin moved to Burlington, Vermont, a musical hotbed at that time, and jammed with Blues Traveler, Phish, Blue Rose, The Unknown Blues Band, Jamie Lee Thurston, Sandra Wright, The Jalapeno Brothers, and eventually forming his own group- The Martin Guigui Band, which became the mainstay of the scene, playing over 250 shows a year and recording two albums which produced regional hits “Maria”, “Anxiety”, “Sticky Love”, and “Why Are We Together”. The infectious songs penned by Guigui were often covered by other Artists and enjoyed Radio airplay. The band’s popularity spread and they became an opening act for Eddie Money, NRBQ, James Cotton, Talking Heads and Bo Diddley amongst many others. The Martin Guigui Band began to expand its audience culminating in a showcase for the group in Los Angeles, where the band opened for Matthew Sweet. After the show, Atlantic offered Martin a “solo artist” deal, which would exclude the other members of the band. Guigui opted to remain loyal to his group and walked away from the deal. The original founding members of the Martin Guigui Band were John Carleton, Peter Persechino and Tom Smith. Eventually Dan Archer and Aaron Hersey rounded out the group during its most popular run. Other musicians that played in the band included Stacy Starkweather, Russ Remington, Jon Fishman, Chris Peterman, Chad Hollister, Joe Moore and Thom Carvey. Later on Russ Lawton anchored the band and became a key collaborator when Martin recorded his first solo record “A Moment In Time”, which paved the way for Guigui’s first signing as an artist on the Rocket Science label (Adrenaline Music Group), which successfully released the CD in 2009, making its way to Grammy consideration in three categories.

Now based in Los Angeles, Martin is music director for the L.A. All Stars, which is a super group made up of the industry’s finest session players and touring musicians. The L.A. All Stars perform at festivals, benefit shows and broadcast events. Over the years, rotating members include Kenny Aronoff, Carmine Rojas, Anton Fig, Will Lee, Mike Merritt, Joe Sublett, Mark Pender, Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg, John Popper, Stan Harrison, Ed Manion, Rickey Woodard, Steve Elson, John Paris, Gregg Bissonette, Richie Cannata, Tony Braunagel, James Wormworth, Phil Lo Presti, Warren Ham, Fred Eltringham, Matt Sorum, Vernon Reid, Gilby Clarke, Jonathan Mover, Aaron Hersey, Scott Page, Cal Bennet, Mike Addiego, John Burk, Chris Peterman, Ron De Jesus, Tal Bergman, Ched Toliver, Corey Britz, Keith Hubacher.

Performances and Recordings

Guigui has shared the stage, recorded, performed, and worked with music greats and icons including Billy Gibbons, Daryl Hall, Clint Black, Michael Bublé, Lyle Lovett, Lady Gaga, Lemmy Kilmister, Christina Aguilera, Lizzo, Slash, Travis Tritt, Gary Clark Jr, Eric Church, Brad Paisley, Peter Frampton, Jelly Roll, Dustin Lynch, Stephen Stills, James Cotton, Jimmie Vaughan, Sheila E, Steve Earle, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Joe Bonamassa, Jose Feliciano, Smokey Robinson, Belinda Carlisle, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, The Doobie Brothers, Michelle Williams, Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Keb' Mo', Robby Krieger, Bret Michaels, Eric Johnson, David Byrne, Lucinda Williams, Grace Potter, Robert Randolph, Phish, Blind Boys Of Alabama, George Thorogood, Larkin Poe, Sara Evans, Walker Hayes, Nancy Wilson, Dave Navarro, Yolanda Adams, Robert Earl Keen, Orianthi, John Popper, Charlie Starr, Billy Ray Cyrus, Joan Osborne, Southside Johnny, Richie Sambora, Trace Adkins, Lecrae, Lee Greenwood, Randy Scruggs, Jake Owen, NRBQ, Steve Forbert, Don McLean, Bo Diddley, Rita Coolidge, Eddie Money, Salt-N-Pepa, Sam Moore, Chris Janson, Joan Osborne, Joe Dee Messina, Laverne Baker, Debbie Gibson, Dennis Quaid, The Bacon Bros, Ellis Hall, La Mississippi, Julio Iglesias Jr., Emily Estefan, Maxi Priest, Don Felder, James Montgomery, Lauren Alaina, Tim Montana, ZZ Ward, Candice Glover, Kris Allen, Haley Reinhart, Benton Blount, The Slip.

Guigui has engineered dozens of records, produced over 50 albums, has worked with labels Concord Music Group, Alcazar, Gadfly, Philo, Rounder, Pacific Records, and worked on numerous high profile recordings. A notable highlight is Billy Gibbons’ first solo album, Perfectamundo. Guigui was a catalyst and collaborated closely with Gibbons on all aspects of the record, including playing piano, Hammond B-3, and co-producing. Martin led a 45-city tour as music director with Billy Gibbons & The BFG’s, which included a historical visit and performances in Havana, Cuba at the Havana International Jazz Festival in 2015, yielding a documentary film, “Billy Gibbons & The BFG’s Go To Cuba”, which Guigui directed

Movies

While playing music in the 1980’s and 1990’s Guigui made music driven documentary films. In 1997, an experience playing at his ex-girlfriend’s wedding, led him to write his first screenplay, and direct his first feature length movie “My Ex-Girlfriend’s Wedding” (aka: Wedding Band) which featured an infamous cameo by Senator Bernie Sanders as Rabbi Manny Shevitz and Dom DeLuise as the priest. Guigui relocated to Los Angeles, the film enjoyed success in the indie film festival circuit, however lackluster distribution stalled his filmmaking career. Guigui spent several years writing spec scripts, scoring films and TV shows while directing indie features, notably “Swing”, “Beneath The Darkness” and National Lampoon’s “Cattle Call”, all which have become cult favorites.

Most recently Guigui has been known to take on inspiring cultural movie projects tackling complex subject matters like “The Bronx Bull” (the Jake LaMotta story), and “9/11”. Most recently, in a partnership with NBA Entertainment, Guigui wrote and directed “Sweetwater”, the story of the first African American player to play in the NBA, a passion project over 27 years in the making. "Sweetwater" has won numerous awards worldwide, and was nominated for Outstanding Independent Feature Film by the NAACP Image Awards. Martin is quoted as saying- “Embrace the unknown and it shall embrace you back. You jump off a cliff knowing you’re going to grow wings...and somehow I’ve managed to shove two lifetimes into one.” Encompassing Martin’s collective talents as a Director, Musician, Writer, Composer and Producer, Martin has worked on over 150 productions including TV shows, music videos, documentaries and feature films with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Basketball Guigui is a passionate lover of the game of basketball. He played in the NBA Entertainment League with the likes of Will Ferrell, Snoop Dogg, Brian McKnight, Chris Brown, Adam Sandler, Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, Justin Timberlake Rick Fox, and Terrell Owens. Guigui has also played in the Venice Basketball League. Guigui still actively plays the game in industry leagues in Los Angeles. Martin maintains a strong relationship with the NBA and was integral in the induction of Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton into the Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame in 2014.

Author

Martin is an amateur astrophysicist and dedicates time to the study and advancement of the principles of physics as it pertains to realms of theoretical and observational physics. Martin is a contributing author to the book "After Shock" (50th anniversary of "Future Shock").

Family Life

Guigui makes his life in California with his talented family: wife Dahlia Waingort (together since 2000), their two daughters Esther and Rebecca, and their son Noah.

Awards and Honors

• Billboard Awards
• ASCAP Awards
• United Nations World Award
• Golden Spirit Award
• Golden Dragon Best Director
• Golden Dragon Best Music
• Golden Dragon Best Feature Film
• Estabrook Award
• Best Director London Director Awards
• Best Director New York City International Film Festival
• Best Director Latin USA Film Festival
• Audience Favorite Palm Springs International Film Festival
• Audience Favorite Temecula Film Festival
• Audience Favorite Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
• Audience Favorite Newport Beach Film Festival
• Audience Favorite Long Beach International Film Festival
• Audience Favorite Los Angeles Italia Film Festival
• Best Feature Film Berlin Independent Film Festival
• Best Feature Film Barcelona Indie Awards
• Best Feature Film Big Apple Film Festival
• Best Feature Film Hollywood Horrorfest
• Best Feature Film Grimmfest
• Best Music Park City Film Music Festival
• Audience Favorite U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
• Golden Starfish Hamptons International Film Festival
• Conquistador Award
• City Of Los Angeles Award

Philanthropy

One of Guigui’s mantras is “Life makes the most sense when you are giving.” Martin performs charity concerts regularly for America Salutes You, Endangered Species, Prevention Of Child Abuse, Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, National Guard Foundation. Guigui helped organize and Music Directed the iconic “One America Appeal” concert event hosted by all five then living former U.S. Presidents: Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.  The event raised $45 Million Dollars for Hurricane relief in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

References

This article "Martin Guigui" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Martin Guigui. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---