Paco de Lucia “En Vivo: Conciertos de España 2010” – Paco de Lucia, flamenco guitar & other performers – Emarcy (2-CDs)

by | Jun 20, 2014 | Classical CD Reviews

Paco de Lucia “En Vivo: Conciertos de España 2010” – Paco de Lucia, flamenco guitar; Antonio Sanchez, second guitar; Antonio Serrano, harmonica; Alain Pere, Cuban/Latin electric bass player; Duquende and David Jacoba, vocalists; Israel Suarez “Pirana,” percussion and “Farruco,” dancer – Emarcy 1181876, (2-CDs) 44:37, 45:56 [Distr. By Universal] *****:

 

Flamenco/classical guitarist Paco de Lucia died unexpectedly February 25, 2014, while playing with his children on a beach at Playa del Carmen in Mexico.  He was 66 years old and his death was a monumental loss to contemporary Spanish music.

Paco de Lucia was one of the first artists to explore the fusion of flamenco and jazz. His skill and speed were astonishing and electrifying. His legacy has been captured in recordings like this final album, his twenty-fifth.

With his septet, de Lucia created high-power improvisations which reflect the loose abandon and inspirational personal style of each musician. De Lucia learned to play the guitar by ear. He was influenced by the flamenco music of his neighborhood where he grew up and emerged as a child prodigy. He evolved into a touring ensemble musician and started his recording career. He was also a master of the classical guitar.

In 1968 he met a young gypsy singer, Camaron de las Isla who happened to come from the same province as de Lucia, Cadiz. Their musical chemistry was unique and the duo composed and recorded nine albums.

Camaron was a genius who expressed the deep flamenco soul with the defiance of the rockers, expressing the greatest intensity, taking his vocal art to undreamed-of heights. Unfortunately, he died in 1992 from cancer.

De Lucia continued his visionary art with a solo career and then with a guitar trio in 1979 and in 1980 forging the then avant-garde style of flamenco jazz. In 1981 he formed the Paco de Lucia Sextet which featured instruments like the electric bass, saxophone and flute plus the box-shaped cajón which de Lucia had found in Peru. He said it was the essential percussion instrument to accompany flamenco guitar.

Having made both studio and live recordings, de Lucia said, “The energy created during a live performance can never be created in a studio, that’s where the soul of the music is most likely to appear – live on stage.”

This final album of Paco de Lucia’s has been available off and on since 2012. It is an extraordinary testament to a great artist. The sound on these two CDs is breathtaking in its realism. This release is for lovers of flamenco and jazz and the successful combination of these two musical forms.

Don’t forget de Lucia’s performance of Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” on Verve 510 301. Rodrigo considered it the best. [Or “Friday Night in San Francisco” = the fabulous live guitar trio of 1980 with John McLaughlin and Al De Meola – on both SACD and 45rpm vinyl…Ed.]

TrackList:

Disc 1

  1. Variaciones de Minera (Minera)
  2. Mi Antonia (Buleria Por Solea)
  3. Tangos con Cositas Buenas (Tangos)
  4. Moraito Siempre (Buleria)

Disc 2

  1. Cafetal (Rumba), El
  2. Lagartijo (Siguiriya)
  3. Zyryab En Vivo
  4. Vamonos (Rumba)

—Zan Furtwangler

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