Santana protege sets out on world debut

KUSA - At 24 years old, guitarist Orianthi has already experienced what most aspiring musicians only dream of, including learning her craft from mentor and legend Carlos Santana. What's left to conquer? We took a look on 9NEWS 5 a.m.

After a performance with Carrie Underwood on stage at the 2009 Grammy Awards the blogosphere was buzzing with news of this little-known guitar prodigy.

It prompted the late Michael Jackson to call with an offer for her to be his guitarist for his dates at the O2 Arena in London. When offered the gig in Jackson's live band, Orianthi joined a prestigious line of guitar players including Eddie Van Halen, Santana, Slash, Steve Stevens, Jennifer Batten and Larry Carlton. Sadly the tour was not to be and music lost an icon.

"Working with Michael was a life-changing experience," Orianthi reflects, "One I will never forget."

Her story starts in Adelaide on the southern tip of Australia where, at the age of six, Orianthi began taking an interest in her dad's record collection. "Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, Santana... he was into guitar players that are real songwriters," she boasts.

Growing up in the 80s, a decade remembered for its many guitar greats, Orianthi also listened to a lot of Whitesnake, Van Halen and Def Leppard. Her father, who used to be a player in a Greek band, also kept plenty of instruments around the house, and it didn't take long before Orianthi strummed her first chord. Mastering the six-string came naturally.

"When I was 11, Carlos Santana came to play Adelaide and that show really affected me," she recounts. "I begged my dad to get me a second hand electric guitar so I could be like Carlos, and that was it, no more acoustic. After that, I would buy all of Carlos' videos - on VHS! - which I kept rewinding to try and learn his solos. I totally wore out the tapes."

Some seven years later when Carlos Santana passed through Adelaide again Carlos' brother arranged a sound-check meeting between the guitar god and his young disciple after hearing some of her music.

A sound check jam evolved into an invitation to join him on stage where Orianthi played for about 35 minutes and took a solo in front of a hometown crowd. Performances, tours and guest appearances with Steve Vai, ZZ Top and Prince have kept Orianthi busy up to this point. 

Now she's hard at work promoting her debut album, Believe, on which she sings, writes and leads her own band. The first single from the album, "According To You" is getting wide airplay and multiple downloads. For more please visit: www.orianthi.com