A brilliant and incredibly inspiring performance…
I always appreciate artists, songwriters and musicians no matter what level or style of music they perform in. But it takes quite a lot to actually *blow me away* with just *one single performance*.
Now check this out… and MAKE SURE YOU LISTEN FROM START TO FINISH - the rhythm this guy has - amongst another thing (which you’ll get to hear yourself) is absolutely brilliant.
Who is he? Raul Midon. He’s not a ‘new’ artist - though he’s certainly new to me. Like it? 
Post a comment below.
Shamir
October 26th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
He’s bloody excellent! x
October 26th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Simply an amazing performance! It made be better just by watching it.
Arlon Bennett
http://www.arlonbennett.com
October 26th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Made me a better musician just by watching him!
Arlon
http://www.arlonbennett.com
October 26th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
absolutely amazing, a rhythmic genius!
October 26th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
ohe is a star great guitarist singer he is going some where soon thank need to play some of his styles
October 26th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
That’s cool. Thanks for helping me out for being a better songwriter. Thanks for all your help.
Jennifer
October 27th, 2007 at 12:19 am
That makes me inspire to compose again.
Amazing!!!
October 27th, 2007 at 3:32 am
Holly Molly!! That was FANTASTIC!! I really enjoy that, thanks for sharing. I will be telling my guitar students to watch this!
October 27th, 2007 at 5:22 am
Thank you a million times for sharing!
October 27th, 2007 at 10:53 am
completely ridiculous…what planet is he from? Now I gotta look up Donnie Hathaway! The name is very familiar and I’m sure I’ve heard some of his songs but I’m not connecting any. This guy is unbelievable. Does he have any CD’s out? he must.
October 27th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Awesome,and inspirational, he is truly blessed with talent!
October 27th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
This guy is a peek into the wonderful future of music
October 27th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Oh, and Christopher …Donnie Hathaway is somewhat of a soul LEGEND. Everybody has heard of Marvin Gaye, but it’s Donnie Hathaway who is my personal soul favourite.
One of his great classics is a song called “A Song For You”. That song is in my *TOP 10* list of my all time very best songs. It’s truly a classic and incredibly touching. Everybody should look up that song and listen to it right now.
One other amazing thing about Donnie Hathaway (you can tell I dig this guy, huh?) is that a few decades ago when Stevie Wonder emerged to the scene, he sang mainly with a very loud and ’screamy’ tone. When Donnie Hathaway stepped into the limelight, Stevie Wonder actually *changed the way he sang* because of him.
This is no joke… ever since then, Stevie has incorporated a quiet soulful timbre to his vocal dynamics. And of course, I love Stevie too
Shamir
October 27th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
amazing and inspiring
Sally Singer
October 27th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
fantastic and inspiring
October 28th, 2007 at 12:11 am
SHAMIR:
Couldn’t even listen to it all
way through. Not type of stuff
I listen to, really. -J.Mitchell
October 28th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
he’s da bomb spankin sound affects
October 29th, 2007 at 1:31 am
WOW he is awsomely good ^^
October 29th, 2007 at 3:20 am
Wow He did that trumpet thing
October 29th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I loved the chorus….
October 29th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
He’s indeed very talented. But I sure see a huge amount of ‘Al Jarreau’ influence in his style, phrasing and approach to percussive vocalizing. About the only difference is how he brings his skill with the guitar into the mix.
~ DoctorAxe (MIke)
October 29th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
He’s very exciting! Wow, I thought it was amazing the way he carried such a varied and extensive melody solo on the guitar, especially whilst singing too! It just shows you what can be done =]
October 29th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
It is like watching a juggling act.The guy has chops and attractive vocal qualities but it’s not something I care to hear again. The melody and lyrics are on the corny side and jammed together in a less than graceful fashion.
Save the guitar pyrotechnics for the break and let the song breathe a little.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
I think it’s important to note that if you can attempt a performance like that, there (in my opinion) must be a fine balance between the lyrical message, melody and the musical technique.
What I mean by this (rather than some phrase) is that doing what he just done - with deep or clever lyrics, coupled with intricate melodies …would probably mean that ‘general listeners’ would most likely not ‘get it’.
It’s a fun tune with a easy to understand message - with some incredible syncopation.
Just my two cents
Shamir
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:25 am
Wow!!! wow, wow! Many songs will give me goose pimples, but this song had my chicken skin going and tears in my eyes. It was some of the most unique guitar picking/strumming I’ve ever encountered and don’t EVEN get me started on the lyrics. If I could obtain 1/10th of the style in my lyrics writing that this guy does, I’d count myself doubly blessed! Thank you Mr. Ridon for your incredible gift! It was a privilege to hear such a fantastic song
November 11th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
wow this performance was amazing! he has some crazy guitar strumming skills.
November 19th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
I dig that jazzy stuff. Right hand technique, Amazing!
December 14th, 2007 at 6:31 am
Artists that kind should be worldwide known!
December 24th, 2007 at 12:36 am
thanx 4 all the help u have giving me my song writing has REALLY improving now i can go up in front of that crowd and sing my songz at the dinner raffle
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:14 am
Did you know that he is blind as well? He’s done an excellent rendition of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Ribbon In The Sky’ on Herbie Hancock’s “Possibilities” album.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
He’s really good, thanks for sharing …
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Raul Midon!
Check out his performance on the David Letterman Show. It’s even more shocking!
Makes me think of Stevie Wonder.
He was so kind as to post videos on YouTube explaining his guitar technique.
Beautiful guy on many many levels.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Hi shamir
Thank you for sending me the track…..but I have one problem……I can´t seem to find the track…….Please advize…
Thanks
Cliff..
August 7th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
With talent like that, I’m surprised he’s not world famous! After listening to his guitar playing, I cringe…I thought I knew how to play guitar and now realize what an amateur I really am.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:01 am
The dexterity on the guitar is really great. He is good.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Very good rhythm, I think the lyrics get a little lost with all the busyness of the right hand. however, I do think that he’s is very good, but he’s not the only one out there who can play like that.
David DeLoach is also a very fine songwriter and plays a mean guitar.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Rare talent such as this requires two brains. This Artist will definitely go into my special connection under that category. I hope for the privilege of seeing a live performance some day. Another Artist displaying that kind of control in a different style is Tommy Emanuel. I’ve seen Mr. Emanuel live twice. Also available on YouTube. Thanks for the heads up on Raul Midon. Possibly more than two brains.
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:02 am
i’m sure he is great, but i can’t see it.
whats the song called and i’ll look it up?
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Mmmh,
No words for this … He is a genius .
Al
October 7th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Wow, I actually thought it was a trumpet off camera at the start then realised at the end ot was actually him making the sounds! Not really my style of music, but undeniable talent right there. I did like his slap guitar approach too, very cool.
October 30th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Fantastic never heard him before either. He almost mixes Brasilian music and blues. Totally a new style.
X Izzy
December 15th, 2008 at 2:45 am
I loved the originality…awsome chorus thanks for showing me the clip..it inspired me
February 19th, 2009 at 1:14 am
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Raul is a one-man band. A powerful performance!
March 9th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Just mindblowing!!! Thanks for sharing it. Really original and fresh, love his style!
March 18th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
I’ve seen this guy before, I believe it was on a talk show. Anyway I think I’m jeolous of his talent and I know that not a good way to be but I’m just being honest. Now, about his talent, I think the guy is a fantastic musician and that set he did was off the chain man. I wish I could play like that. Maybe if I practice hard enough, I’ll get close (huh?0 Anyway, thanks for sharing that with us. William
April 19th, 2009 at 5:01 am
Discipline & focus are seeds of greatness. All of us who aspire to create great music that will last centuries, have to develop discipline. Patience is a virtue and a rare commodity in the music industry. Bless you sir, again thank you for thinking of me.
June 14th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Hi Shamir
my first post here
Raul Midon is pure talent. As a singer and (hopefully) songwriter, I’m amazed by the way he’s able to combine is singing and playing all together.
However, glad he mentioned Donny Hathaway. To me Donny is the essence of soul music. My top three in fact is: Donny, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. They are simply what soul music is all about.
Thank you for your email and your course, it’s helping me a lot.
August 2nd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Hey, Shamir!
Thank you for sharing such great talent! Raul Midon has mad skills! I really appreciate great music! Much thanks again and keep in touch!
September 20th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
This guy is a great talent!
October 23rd, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I absolutely love this guy, what a performance. Can’t believe he’s not better known. Oh well he soon will be.
I have song I’ve written called ” Dreaming of Her”. I don’t write scores are use any instruments, I just get this melody and yada yada in a recorder. Then I just set dowm an write the words to the song. All my music is ocapela ( is that spelled right) and I sing it in church service. My songs are secular, but with a flavor of spiritual. The only way I can do this is with a head set micro phone, as my computor skills are limited. I just need someone professional to let me know if this is any good.
I won’t bother any, just this one post. I just need to know if this song is any good. I had this dream where 3 ladies in white were singing to me and when I woke up I yada yada in a recoreder and wrote the words the next day.
Here are the words.
There’s a wonder a building
There’s a song to fullfill
A story about loving
A heart wound to seal
Is there one who is lonely
Is she dreaming of me
I pray tears to sweet jesus
That someday we’ll meet
(Chorus)
Oh father in heaven I’m lonely
You see how my heart still bleeds
I’m sorry with you I’m still lonely
Like Adam I still need my Eve
There’s a girl in the shadow
And I need her embrace
The night times are not easy
I dream of such grace
As I walk in the city
Could this smile be the one
Is their love in the window
Her heart be my sun
(Chorus)
Everday that I miss her
Is a day of unrest
Every love has a reason
And it’s always a test
Now if you find your true love
They give purpose in strife
Put your heart on their finger
Ask’em to be your life
(Chorus)
(Chorus)!
I’m dreaming of herrrrr!!! herrrr!! herrrrr
Yes I’m dreaming of her
Thanks and keep it coming
we need you!
Michael
October 23rd, 2009 at 8:52 pm
I thought this was a private post, any way the copy write is in 2008.
November 1st, 2009 at 12:53 am
wow really inspired stuff. thanks for sharing
May 26th, 2010 at 12:09 am
Hi Shamir, thank you. You are the most valuable gem I have found this year! Your tips have been great, and have purchased and looking forward to starting your course when I can give it the time it deserves
Everything you have shared has been on the button, right down to ‘not being resentful about the day job’ as it does give so many inspiring song ideas…and yes…allows finance for those valuable musical purchases!
Now I pop in hear to be inspired further, and also read your comment on Donny Hathaway. My man (who I revere as a musician) has the same opinion - he also personally prefers Donny’s tone to Marvin’s.
I’m sure it’s Donny that Amy Winehouse refers to in her song ‘Rehab’…”there’s nothing you can’t teach me, that I can’t learn from Mr Hathaway”.
I’ve recently been enjoying learning Amy’s material for our covers band.
You know what Shamir… I used to be resentful over performing covers every week for the past 12 years, but now I am thankful that I am able to assimilate all those great artists’ songs with my own emerging style. I may have been singing for 12 years but I’m really only starting to really ‘get it’.
May 26th, 2010 at 2:11 am
by the way, i love Raul’s vocal ‘trumpet’ scat, reminds me of my cousin…she’s a great mimick and can vocally take off the trumpet solo in Renee Geyer’s ‘It Only Happens’…have you heard it? it’s an oldie but a goodie…and a bit of an anthem here in New Zealand, lol.
May 26th, 2010 at 2:19 am
lol, I bet Jack Black will love this guy too!
May 26th, 2010 at 4:08 am
Can you tell I’m extremely inspired by this? I’m back.
I’ve been googling Raul and he performs with artists like Jason Mraz and Indie Arie.
Check out this youtube clip of Raul and Indie;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=355rFCfDsRE&feature=related
I love the top comment “talent recognizes talent!”
btw - he is obviously renowned for his vocal ‘trumpet’ solos, check out the solo at 3.48 minutes in the clip.