Roland Guerin grew up in a musical family. He first learned music from his mother, a bass player who taught him that you can’t make it in music without a strong groove and feeling.
Roland studied Marketing at Southern University in Baton Rouge, where he joined legendary jazz educator Alvin Batiste’s Band, The Jazztronauts. He later began to tour the world as a member of jazz guitarist Mark Whitfield's band. During that time Guerin explored the jazz genre; which ultimately proved to be an avenue toward success. He had the opportunity to perform with such greats as George Benson, Jimmy Scott, Frank Morgan, Vernel Fournier, and Gerry Mulligan. In the meantime, he also participated to the recording of several albums with other artists including Ellis Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, and Allen Toussaint.
In 1991, Guerin explored his spiritual side, as he was given a vision to build a new instrument. The result: a one-of-a-kind acoustic hollow bodied, arched top and back, six string bass guitar, crafted by luthier Salvador Giardina. This instrument enables Roland to write music for an entire spectrum of genres including pop, rock, R&B, classical, folk, and country.
Roland made his debut as a bandleader in 1998 with The Winds of the New Land, a record acclaimed for its innovative style of composition and arrangement. He released four successful albums in the next decade (see discography), recently followed by A Different World in September 2011. This new album features Terrence Higgins (d), Mike Esneault (p), Khris Royal (s), Shane Theriot (g), Denis Williams (s) and Bill Summers (perc).
From 1994 to 2010 Roland was a member of the Marcus Roberts Trio, with which he had the opportunity to perform at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. They also regularly performed as a jazz trio enhanced by symphony orchestras.
When he is not performing with his band, Roland Guerin tours and performs with Allen Toussaint and also enjoys occasional performances with the Brian Blade Fellowship Band. In the late summer of 2009, Guerin had the pleasure to tour with John Scofield and the Piety Street band, with fellow New Orleanians Shannon Powell and Jon Cleary. They made audiences groove to revisited Gospel tunes in Israel, Japan, Switzerland, etc...
When he is not touring, Roland is very active on the New Orleans music scene, where he performs in all genres with such artists as Herlin Riley, Dr. Michael White, Germaine Bazzle, Shannon Powell, Leah Chase, and Ellis Marsalis.
