| Julian Smith | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Joolz Gianni |
| Born | April 1969 (age 42)[1] |
| Genres | Classical, Jazz, Soul, Blues, Funk, Pop |
| Occupations | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Saxophone Clarinet Bassoon |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Sony TV |
| Website | juliansmithsax.co.uk |
Julian Smith (born 21 April 1969) is a British saxophonist and music teacher from Halesowen. He is also known by his stage name Joolz Gianni.[2] He has made guest appearances alongside artists such as Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet), Gwen Dickey (Rose Royce) and Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), and has performed on national television together with Chris Rea, M People, and Dina Carroll. In 2003, he released a solo album, Chilled 2 the Sax, which features Acker Bilk, Dina Carroll, and Ola Onabule. Some of his tracks also appear in the multi-platinum selling The Classic Chillout album series from Sony Music.[3] Smith became better known after appearing on the third series of Britain's Got Talent in 2009 and finished in third place behind singer Susan Boyle and winning dance troupe Diversity.[4] Currently on tour with The Stylistics (November 2010)
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Julian attended Perryfields High School in Sandwell. He studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire. Smith's father was a music teacher and had the opportunity to try out a lot of different instruments. He started playing the clarinet, but later switched to the saxophone. He studied the mechanics of the bassoon at the Birmingham Conservatoire but began concentrating on the sax thereafter.[5] Smith has been playing the saxophone for 20 years and cites some of his influences to be Kenny G, David Sanborn, Candy Dulfer, and Kirk Whalum.[2]
He has children with his wife Iraz and said that he entered Britain's Got Talent to "make life better for them".[1]
On 18 April 2009 during the third series of Britain's Got Talent, Smith entered with his saxophone. A standing ovation occurred after Smith's performance. During the judges' remarks, Simon Cowell stated, "...there could be something special about you Julian". With the public voting the fate of all the contestants, Smith advanced to the semi-final round of competition which took place on 28 May 2009. In the final on 30 May, Julian placed third with 16.4% of nearly 4 million votes.
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