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Paco de Lucia

flamenco guitar from Spain
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Paco de Lucia

Possibly the most advanced guitarist in any idiom.”—Guitar Review

…Virtuosic technique…with breathtaking speed and accuracy.”—New York Post

I’ve never seen a guitarist so able to juxtapose the sweetest subtleties with 20-note-per-second runs that are perfectly articulated.”—Ann Arbor News

Simply put, Paco de Lucia is one of greatest musicians in the world. From his widely acclaimed world tours and movie sound-tracks, Paco de Lucia has become a living legend of the flamenco guitar and one of Spain’s ranking musical ambassadors to the world. Since his North American debut in 1970, Paco has collaborated with some of the world’s greatest artists including jazz luminaries like John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Al Dimeola and long-term associate and singer Cameron de la Isla.

The training ground for a flamenco guitarist, de Lucia once said, “is the music around you, made by people you see, the people you make music with. You learn it from your family, from your friends, in la juerga (the party) drinking. And then you work on technique.”

The origins of flamenco are somewhat in dispute. Some argue the word refers to the Flemish people who arrived in Spain in the 16th century and once meant simply non-Spanish. Other suggest the word derives from the Arabic phrase “felah mengu,” meaning peasant in flight.

What is indisputable is that flamenco is a blend of the many cultures—Gypsy, Muslim, Jewish—that at one time settled Andalusia, in the south of Spain. Their influences can be heard distinctively in the melisma of the singer, the rhythms, the slowly curling harmonic lines of the guitars.

Flamenco is, like the blues to which it is often compared, the music of a poor disenfranchised minority. But it is also a complex art form that combines guitar playing, singing and dancing, setting off
layers of powerful rhythms and emotions.

However, de Lucia has been criticized by flamenco die hards for his forays into other styles (his own group organized in 1981, includes bass, drums and saxophone) and his high profile collaborations, especially with jazz musicians most notably with pianist Chick Corea and fellow guitarists John McLaughlin, Al Dimeola and Larry Coryell. But the results of the flamenco/jazz collaboration are often dazzling and have been documented in several releases including the guitar trio albums Castro Marin (1979). Friday Night in San Francisco (1981) and Passion Grace and Fire (1982).

De Lucia shrugs off the complaints or the concerns that he might lose his roots or betray the essence of flamenco.

“There was a time when I was concerned about losing myself,” says Paco, “but not now. I’ve realized that, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t do anything else. I am a flamenco guitarist. If I tried to play anything else it would still sound like flamenco.”

Paco de Lucia and his band have always delivered incendiary performances during their visits to Vancouver. Fire resistant clothing highly recommended.

Recently, Chris Wong of the Vancouver Courier was moved to write, “After the guitarist’s last Orpheum show, a number of people I know said it was one of the best concerts they ever experienced. So miss this performance at your own aesthetic peril.”
Folk/Celtic/Latin/World Jazz/Blues
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