Joe Satriani

The Profile

Joe Satriani is an American guitarist best known for instrumental rock albums and for being cited in these reviews as a key “guitar hero” figure. Reviewers emphasize his melodic approach, signature touch, and technique (notably legato and tapping), and describe him as an influential teacher to players including Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett, and Larry LaLonde.

Publicly verifiable: Joe Satriani is an American guitarist and composer, born July 15, 1956, in Westbury, New York. He is widely known for instrumental rock and for mentoring guitarists including Steve Vai and Kirk Hammett.

Across 14 reviews, Satriani comes off as a major guitar-hero figure: melodic, technically fluent, and often praised for taste over pure speed. “Surfing With the Alien” is repeatedly treated as the key classic; “The Extremist,” “Strange Beautiful Music,” and “Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards” draw strong praise too. A few records are framed as uneven or repetitive (“The Elephants Of Mars,” “Super Colossal,” and especially “Flying In A Blue Dream” in one review). Reviewers frequently highlight his layered guitar arrangements, warm tone, and live-era magic from the late ’80s. He’s also discussed as an influential teacher (Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett, Larry LaLonde) and a versatile multi-instrumentalist.