WHO WE ARE: IAN VILLAFANA

Published 12:00 am Saturday, March 13, 2010

By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Human lives are filled with epiphanies — moments of sudden insight into the reality or meaning of a situation. For local musician Ian Villafana, one such moment came through a bit of wisdom offered by LaPlace-based musician and producer Quintin Gerard.

After the pair played together for some time, it was Gerard who convinced Villafana to get more serious about his music, a revelation that eventually led to the release of “Epiphany,” Villafana’s first solo album. Gerard also showed the jazz guitarist the wealth of options available in creating music in a professional studio.

When Gerard posed to him the question “What are you going to do with your music?” Villafana realized it was time for him to take it to the next level. So, after months of recording and re-recording tracks, the final product finally emerged.

Instrumental — no pun intended — in not only the recording but also the design process, when Villafana finally saw and heard the finished product, he knew he had something special.

Since then the CD has steadily gained in popularity among the smooth jazz set.

“Everybody that talks about the music says it puts them in a really relaxed mood,” said Villafana.

To truly get to the roots of what drives Villafana and his music, one must travel to the Caribbean nation of Trinidad, where Villafana spent his youth. There he was exposed to the sounds one might typically associate with the region — calypso, bossa nova, Latin and reggae, to name a few. Trinidad was a British colony until fairly recently, however, so Villafana also heard his fair share of British standards such as the Beatles and Elton John while growing up.

Through this association with the English-speaking world, American music soon infiltrated Villafana’s music catalogue.

He left Trinidad in 1981 with the dream of attending the world-renowned Berklee School of Music, but instead found himself honing his guitar skills in St. Croix. Eight months later, he moved to the River Parishes, drawn by the abundance of work in the industrial sector.

Soon after, the realities of family life replaced dreams of music school, and a career as a professional musician was set on the backburner.

Villafana did not hang up his guitar altogether, however, as he continued to play around the area with local R&B cover bands. Eventually, the music he was playing no longer fulfilled his artistic needs, and Villafana sought a more creative outlet.

“I wanted my compositions to mean something,” he noted.

Soon, he hooked up with Gerard and played on his second CD, and the pair started playing shows together.

The rest, as they say, is history. Gerard urged Villafana to record his own music, and the concept for “Epiphany” was born.

Villafana said while recording the album he resisted the urge to show off too much, instead choosing to stay true to the spirit of his music. His son gave him a piece of advice when the recording process was still in the early stages.

“Make it simple,” he said, and his father took that advice to heart.

The beginning of 2010 saw the release of the CD, and since then the guitarist has been working to promote the album. Music is still not a full-time gig for him, however, so he continues to work at DuPont as a process technologist. So for the time being, any work done to promote “Epiphany” must be done on what little free time Villafana can find.

Nonetheless, his CD has found its way into rotation on a few Internet radio stations, and DJs are starting to take notice.

Villafana is currently working on putting a band together — he played most of the instruments on the CD himself — so a larger and more local audience can be exposed to his smooth jazz stylings.

Despite the recent slew of accolades, Villafana is still excited by the whole scenario. The first time he heard one of his compositions on the radio, he thought, “Wow, that is me. This is really happening.”

For more information about Villafana or to purchase his CD, visit www.ianv.us.