GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that particularly appeals to you?
ZR: With instrumental music, I’m far more interested in the composition and the arrangement than I am in the guitar (or any other individual instrument or component). I tend to look first for pieces that are musically creative and interesting, before focusing on instrumentation. But with respect to music that is definitively guitar-based, I’d say I’d be looking for playing that is original and unique to the instrument. Anything that might inspire me to up my own game.
Zak Rizvi: “for me, composition is always king”
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