Gerson Lizama (Viña del Mar, Chile) is an instrumental music composer, guitarist, producer and director of the independent record label Caoba Records.
In 2019 he released his musical career as a solo guitarist, in an eclectic compositional style, being strongly influenced by classical music, Latin American folk and Jazz.
To date he has composed, recorded and released 4 studio albums: Reflexión Botánica (2020) , Christmas Guitar: A Magical Story (2021) , 25 Miniatures for Guitar (2022) and Paisaje Silvestre (2023) , totaling a catalog of more than 75 compositions.
Gerson’s distinctive compositional style comes from the blending of classical guitar technique with popular guitar; the use of prominent bass lines, inherited from his years as a jazz and funk bassist; the incorporation of memorable musical motifs, influenced by his love of classical music, especially Russian and French composers of the second half of the 19th century. In addition to the exclusive use of the classical guitar as his main instrument for composing.
Gerson belongs to a generation of musicians that conceives digital media as the main stage and platform for the visibility of his art. Under this premise, he has distributed his music on all music streaming platforms, published the scores of his compositions in digital format and actively participates in social media, where he constantly shares videos performing his pieces.
After 4 years since the release of his solo career, his music is listened to in more than 140 countries, passing one million plays on the US music platform Pandora, more than 5 million plays on Spotify, a fan base of more than 100,000 monthly listeners across the various digital platforms, more than 8 thousand followers on social media and hundreds of sales of his music in digital score format, proving that not only mainstream music has the possibility of achieving global audiences.
Based on this experience, in 2020 he founded Caoba Records, an independent record label that collaborates with the visibility of instrumental music artists, supporting the production and promotion of their work.
To date, he has actively participated in the production, digital distribution and/or promotion of more than 200 instrumental pieces by musicians from various countries, highlighting the artists: Desert Quill Quartet, American chamber quartet; Berto Boyd, Flamenco and classical guitar performer, director of the Flamenco Pacifico ensemble and Corvallis Guitar Society; Leonardo Lucero, Argentine classical guitar performer and former member of Camerata Argentina de Guitarras; Taro Wayama, Japanese composer and winner of the “Aron Green/American String Teachers Association Guitar Competition (2003)” and “Thailand International Guitar Competition” awards; Vivian Fan, American piano performer and chamber music instructor at the Colburn Conservatory, Los Angeles, California; Rick Alexander, Australian composer and performer, winner of the “Australian Music Composition Competition 2018”; Juan Carlos Coche, Chilean classical guitar performer; Los Farsantes, Mexican ensemble of 17th century musical repertoire.
Gerson is currently working on his fifth studio album to be released in early 2024.
Gerson uses guitars of the prestigious brands Cordoba and Alhambra, uses only Savarez strings and records with Rode microphones.