Paco de Lucía

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Paco De Lucia on the cover of El Duende Flamenco de Paco de Lucia (1972).

Paco de Lucía (born December 21, 1947) in Algeciras,Spain, is recognized as flamenco legend all over the world. He is a composer and guitarist, and leading proponent of the Modern Flamenco style. Not only skilled in flamenco, he is one of the very few flamenco guitarists who has also successfully crossed over into other genres of music, such as jazz, classical, and world music. He is the winner of 2004 Prince of Asturias Awards in Arts.

1 Biography
2 Discography
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

De Lucía was born Francisco Sánchez Gómez in Algeciras, a city in the province of Cádiz, in the southernmost tip of Spain and Europe, the youngest of five children. The son of flamenco guitarist Antonio Sánchez, and brother of flamenco singer Pepe de Lucía and flamenco guitarist Ramón de Algeciras, he adopted the stage name Paco de Lucía in honor of his Portuguese-born mother, Lúcia Gomes.

In 1958, at age 11, de Lucía made his first public appearance on Radio Algeciras, and a year later he was awarded a special prize in the Jerez flamenco competition. In 1961, he toured with the flamenco troupe of dancer José Greco. Between 1968 and 1977, he enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with fellow New Flamenco innovator Camarón de la Isla. The two recorded 10 albums together.

De Lucía has toured and recorded with Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin as well as his own Paco de Lucía Sextet (which includes his brothers Ramón and Pepe). He has released several albums encompassing both traditional and modern flamenco styles. Through his wide discography he has given rise to a new way of understanding flamenco and has launched his music and his instrument to a level comparable to modern jazz performers^{[citation needed]}.

Considered a master of rasqueados and picados.^{[citation needed]}, he is also considered to have a great command of blinding speed on the nylon string guitar.

Until asked to perform and interpret Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez in 1991, de Lucía had never learned how to read musical notation. While learning to play the Concierto as a flamenco guitarist, where rhythm and pace is essential, he preferred to risk giving the listener a 'dirty' note when being forced to go from low to very high notes rather than to displace the rhythm and pace just to keep the notes clean. He felt that as a flamenco guitarist he could interpret the Concierto in a fashion not previously done. Joaquín Rodrigo declared that no one had ever played his composition in such a brilliant manner.^{[citation needed]}