Toti Soler
Toti Soler, born Jordi Soler i Galí, is a Spanish guitarist, singer and composer. He was born on 7 June 1949 in Vilassar de Dalt, near Barcelona in Catalonia. He became known in the 1960s with the group Pic-Nic and in the 1970s with Om.
He trained as a classical guitarist at the Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona from 1965 and at the Spanish Guitar Centre in London from 1969. His music blends blues, jazz and flamenco with classical roots.
He was influenced by blues musician Taj Mahal (whom he met in 1971) and by flamenco guitarist Diego del Gastor (during a 1972 trip to Andalucía). His songs often include poetry, giving them a poetic and sensitive feeling.
Some of his music has appeared in films, such as I viaggiatori della sera (1979) by Ugo Tognazzi. In the early 1980s he performed in a duo with flautist Ma Anand Yashu, and in the late 1980s he worked with Pedro Javier González. He has collaborated with many artists, including Léo Ferré and Pau Riba, among others.
Awards and highlights include: in 1996 he performed at the Festival de Guitarra de Barcelona, playing Bach works, and he won the Catalan award for the best record of the year for the anthology Lydda. In 2002 he released the album Vita Nuova and performed it at the Palau de la Música Catalana. In 2003 he received the Premio Nuevas Músicas from SGAE. In 2005 he won the Premi Nacional de Música de Catalunya for the albums L'arxiver de Tortosa, Racconto and Guitar cançons i. He received the Creu de Sant Jordi in 2006.
A 2004 Plays International review praised his guitar playing in the stage production Uncle Vanya in Barcelona, calling it lyrical, poignant and melancholy. In 2007 his Catalan version of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," titled "Susanna," appeared on the album Acordes Con Leonard Cohen.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:17 (CET).