Andreas Varady started his ascent to mastering jazz guitar at a very young age. Born of Hungarian Gypsy
descent, Varady was raised in a small town in Slovakia where he first began to play the guitar at age four,
tutored by his father, Bandi. His family moved to Limerick, Ireland and, after two years of busking in
Limerick and Cork, he met Irish drummer and producer David Lyttle after writing to him on Youtube.
Lyttle began featuring him in his band and, in 2010, produced Varady's debut album Questions for Lyte
Records. The release of Questions and Varady's growing presence on YouTube brought him to the
attention of Martin Taylor, Louis Stewart, Tommy Emmanuel, and later, Quincy Jones.
In 2011, at 13 years old, he became the youngest headlining artist at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London.
The same year, he featured in shows with Martin Taylor, Tommy Emmanuel and Louis Stewart, and
appeared on the front cover of Guitar Player magazine. In the summer of 2012, he had the opportunity to
play at the world famous International Montreux Jazz Festival, where he performed in front of festival
founder Claude Nobs and record producer and music legend Quincy Jones. A few months after the
festival, Quincy Jones signed Varady to his management company.
After signing a record deal with Verve Music under David Foster, Varady made his major label debut in
January 2014, working in Los Angeles with producer David Paich. The self-titled album featured Gregory
Porter, Roy Hargrove, Nathan East, Brian Bromberg, Harvey Mason, Steve Lukhater, Dave Weckl and
many others. He promoted the album globally, through headline shows and guest appearances with
Quincy Jones, appearing at the Blue Note in New York and Tokyo and at the O2 in London. Andreas also
caught the interest of Bob Zievers, agent of George Benson’s, one of Varady’s first heroes. Zievers signed
him for exclusive representation and introduced him to George Benson, who hired Varady as his support
act for several tours in the US and Europe.
In 2018, Varady returned to acoustic jazz with his fourth album, ‘The Quest’. Released on Resonance
Records, it demonstrated his growing voice as a contemporary jazz composer and featured pianist Benito
Gonzales.
Having toured throughout Europe with his trio and quartet over the past five years, playing key clubs such
as Pizza Express, London, A-Trane, Berlin and Ducs Des Lombard, Paris, 2023 will see the release of
Andreas’ fifth album. Showcasing him as a composer and contemporary jazz guitarist, it will feature his
star-on-the-rise drummer brother Adrian Varady, now 20, and contemporary piano player Danny Grissett.
To date, Andreas Varady has worked with a collection of world class musicians, including Gregory Porter,
Roy Hargroove, Casey Benjamin, Terell Stafford, Dirty Loops, Lee Ritenour, Stochelo Rosemberg, Bireli
Lagrene, Louis Stewart, Soweto Kinch and Mary J Blige who featured Varady on her album “A Mary
Christmas”.Varady is a Benedetto artist and plays his own signature variation of the Bambino model
guitar. He is also endorsed by D’Addario strings.