Juan Rodriguez known as Juan El Flaco is a flamenco guitarist born in 1973 in France (Lyon currently resides) to a Gypsy family (The Marians and Los Bolecos), originally from Almeria. Self-taught guitarist, he has performed with leading figures of modern flamenco and Potito, Guadiana, Enrique The Piculabe, David de Jacoba, Saul Quiroz, Rafiki Madrid, Miguel El Rubio, Pack, Piranha, Manolo Franco, Vicente Amigo, Esperanza Fernandez, Chicuelo Miguel Poveda, Paloma Fantova, Jose Maya, Belen Lopez, Karime Amaya, … and their performances have been featured on numerous European stages (Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Germany, France, ….).
Hijo de Antonio Sánchez Pecino, de madre portuguesa y hermano del cantaor Pepe de Lucía. "Mi padre se iba a buscar la vida por las noches a las fiestas y siempre amanecía en casa con flamencos; mi hermano Pepe y mi hermana María también desde chiquitos han estado vinculados a este mundo. Vivíamos en La Bajadilla, un barrio muy gitano, siempre había alguien en casa cantando o tocando." Comenzó sus estudios de guitarra a los seis años. «A mi padre se lo debo todo pues me obligó a tocar desde niño cuando uno no tiene capacidad para decidir lo que quiere ser en la vida y necesitas a alguien que te empuje y te señale el camino. Eso fue lo que él hizo, entre otras cosas porque no tenía dinero para mandarme a la escuela. Tuve que buscar trabajo y llevar un sueldo a la casa».
After the release of his highly acclaimed debut album “Pa'ki Pa'ka” (Asphalt Tango Records 2016), the time has come for Flamenco guitarist Robert 'Robi' Svärd to release an equal follow-up, “Alquimia”. The arrival of "Pa'ki Pa'ka" back in 2016 caused quite a stir and Robi's music soon found its way into the hearts of many leading figures in Flamenco.
Flautist/saxophonist Jorge Pardo is a leading proponent of nuevo flamenco. On his fifth release, he pushes the envelope, presenting jazz standards and pop alongside more traditional compositions. "Caravan" lends itself well to rhythmic interpretations, but the arrangement degenerates midway into a dark-toned muddle. "'Round Midnight" and "Michelle," presented simply with flute and guitar, fare better, coming across as pleasant, "light jazz" renditions. The balance of the compositions are mostly by Pardo, and make his case more persuasively.
Vicente Amigo Girol is a Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist, born in Guadalcanal near Seville. He has played as an accompanying guitarist on recordings by flamenco singers Camarón de la Isla, and Luis de Córdoba, and he has acted as a producer for Remedios Amaya and José Mercé. His album Ciudad de las Ideas won the 2001 Latin Grammy for the Best Flamenco Album and the 2002 Ondas award for the best Flamenco work.
Saxophonist and flutist Jorge Pardo finds common ground between the romantic warmth of flamenco and the harmonic density of jazz on his fourth solo release. There's some synthesizer influence, but the electronics do not overwhelm either the Afro-Latin rhythmic foundation or the expressive playing displayed by Pardo, alto flutist Fernando Bravo, and guitarists Augustin Carbonell and Gerardo Nunez. Sometimes things get a bit lush, but Pardo and his comrades retain enough instrumental fire and energy to keep the date from becoming bogged down or overly sentimental.