About
Maneli Jamal, an acclaimed guitarist, has amazed global audiences with his visually stunning approach to playing acoustic guitar. During his performances, he seamlessly blends diverse musical textures while simultaneously maintaining rhythm with both hands, giving the impression that he has a trio accompanying him. To truly appreciate the full extent of his talents, one must witness his live performances firsthand. With 75 million Spotify plays, 5 million video views, and over 180,000 followers on social media platforms, Jamal has solidified his status as an artist to watch.
longer bio
Guitarist Maneli Jamal has lived in five different countries (Iran, Belarus, Germany, USA, Canada) and moved twenty times before he turned 18. His musical maturity is uncommon among his peers, particularly when he incorporates his nomadic life experiences into his musical compositions.
Few players in his style possess his combination of power and sensitivity, as well as his extensive range of ideas. His rhythmic concepts can vary from being brief and dense to being meticulously explored across multiple movements and real-life anecdotes. The proof of his talent can be seen in his many victories in international music competitions, which include a 1st place finish at Canada's Soundclash Music Awards. Additionally, he was recognized as one of the top 30 guitarists under 30 by Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
Growing up in an artistic and musical family has played a significant role in shaping his distinctive storytelling style during live performances. As a soloist, he has performed across 5 continents and 17 countries. He has a signature model acoustic guitar named after him and featured on the front cover of the 2015 Toronto magazine, which had a worldwide distribution of 500,000 copies. With the world as his home, he continues to captivate audiences from one end of the globe to the other.
Maneli also runs Fingerstyle Pro, a comprehensive online guitar course focused on teaching Guitar.
He is a seven-time recipient of Canada Council grants, ten-time recipient of Ontario Council grants and nine-time recipient of Toronto Arts Council grants.
Documentary
Awards
1st place - 2014 Harbourfront Centre's Soundclash Music Awards (Canada)
2nd place - 2014 Lee Ritenour’s Six String Theory Competition - Acoustic Guitar Category
1st place - 2013 Best Guitarist Award for Indie Week Festival (Canada)
1st place - 2013 Beaches International Jazz Festival Hennessy Contest (Canada)
1st place - 2012 “Awakening” Best Recording AES Convention by Pouya Hamidi (worldwide)
1st place - 2012 Winterfolk Festival Auditions (Canada)
1st place - 2011 Winterfolk Festival Auditions (Canada)
3rd place - 2011 Guitar Idol III held in London, UK (worldwide)
1st place - 2010 Taylor Acoustic Guitars Showdown (worldwide)
1st place - 2009 Faith Acoustic Guitars Competition (worldwide)
International Releases
2024 - The Traveller LP
2023 - State of Intuition LP
2022 - Peaceful Guitar LP
2021 - Beauty of Flow LP
2020 - Soul Odyssey LP
2020 - Tranquil Strings LP
2018 - Ambient Sketchbook LP
2016 - The Mardom Movement LP
2012 - The Lamaj Movement LP
2009 - The Ziur Movement LP
2006 - Demo 2006 EP
Tours
2019 - Europe Tour (Germany, Poland, Italy) 5 Shows
2018 - Fall Tour (France, Germany) 5 Shows
2018 - Spring Tour (Germany, Belgium) 10 shows
2017 - Fall Europe Tour (Italy, Germany, Spain, UK) 30 shows
2017 - Winter Tour (Spain, Greece, India). 15 shows
2016 - Europe (Germany, Italy, France, Holland) CD Release Tour. 30 shows
2016 - India / Mexico / USA Winter solo tour. 22 shows
2015 - USA / Canada with Cole Clark Guitars to promote Maneli Jamal Signature Model. 21 shows
2015 - Reunion Island with Pedro Eustache, Shenkar and Luna Lee. 7 shows
2015 - USA / Canada with International Guitar Night (Andrew York, Diego Figueiredo and Brian Gore). 24 shows
2014 - Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland) with Andrea Valeri. 12 shows
2013 - New Zealand / Australia with Van Larkins. 35 shows
2012 - Canada with Van Larkins and Trevor Gordon Hall. 17 shows
Recent Accomplishments
2023 - 75 million Spotify streams
2023 - 5 million YouTube views
2023 - 42k YouTube subscribers / 37k Facebook likes / 78k Instagram followers / 13k TikTok followers
2022 - Canada Folk Music Awards (Nominated for Solo Artist of the year)
2022 - Canada Folk Music Awards (Nominated for Instrumental Solo Artist of the year)
2021 - Best Acoustic Guitarist In the World Right Now (Total Guitar Magazine)
2020 - Best Acoustic Guitarist (Nominated by MusicRadar)
2017 - Canada Folk Music Awards (Nominated for World Solo Artist of the Year)
2017 - Canada Folk Music Awards (Nominated for Solo Instrumental Artist of the Year)
2015 - Cole Clark Guitar Maneli Jamal Signature Model AN2EC-MJ
2015 - Front cover of Toronto Tourism Magazine. 500,000 copies distributed worldwide
2014 - Front cover of Italian Guitar Magazine Acusitca Chittara
2014 - Named "30 best guitarst under 30" by Acoustic Guitar Magazine
Press
"Jamal is known for his entertaining on‑stage delivery as well as his playing, and this ability to tell a story pervades his compositions. He has a gift for finding sounds to conjure images, whether he is evoking the Iranian revolution in Awakening or summer in the American South on Southern Magnolia."
-Total Guitar Magazine
"It's great to see a player who integrates classical guitar as well as steel-string but to really understand Maneli's depth of influences as a player, it's worth watching his documentary. Born to Iranian parents in exile in Europe, his upbringing inspires his East-meets-West musical themes."
-Music Radar
"The comical and incredibly talented Maneli Jamal brought stories from his upbringing translated to innovative guitar delivery. Jamal stunned us with his intense frenetic ethnic flare, and even his artfully placed pauses. His story delivery was also spot on and so fun to hear."
-Guitar World, Laura B. Whitmore
"Jamal shows his mastery of phrasing, a sumptuous tone, and an ability to wrest emotion from every note, even from the pauses between the notes."
-Minor 7th, Céline Keating
"Maneli Jamal is an upcoming star and is writing some powerful music with a personal narrative that is compelling and meaningful."
-Andrew York, Grammy Award Winning Guitarist
"Having released his first albums on CandyRat Records, Jamal struck out on his own in 2012 with The Lamaj Movement, a collection that showcases his Iranian heritage as well as the astonishing tone and dexterity that sets him apart from other fingerstylists."
-Acoustic Guitar Magazine
"Each song is a story, the technical wizardry kept to what’s necessary for that tune. He chooses to unfold his mastery of the instrument over the course of a set rather than pack a thousand notes into one or two tunes and reuse tricks all night."
-Orillia Packet, John Swartz
"Listening to Jamal talk about his own work is like listening to the work itself: there’s a story going on, intimately shaping the sound of every individual note. There’s real substance."
-Soundclash Music Awards (Harbourfront Centre), Post City
"Today Maneli is one of the fine young guitarists making their mark in what one would classify as World music. In Maneli’s case this may be more accurate than with many others considering he has lived in Iran, Belarus, Germany, USA, and Canada. His music is truly beyond description."
-Bill Piburn, Fingerstyle 360 Magazine