Paco De Lucia - Flamenco Guitar Player

Paco de Lucia was born in 1947 began studying theand recording with the legendary flamenco singer
guitar as a child, and started his career as aCameron de la Isla. The whole of Spain fell under the
professional guitar player at the age of thirteen withspell of Cameron's unique singing style and Paco's
Jose Greco's flamenco dance company. Paco spenttime with him produced a collection of unforgettable
much of his time locked in his room practicing on hisrecords and videos.
guitar.In 1979 Paco de Lucia toured with jazz guitarists John
The most obvious result to friends and family ofMcLaughlin and Larry Coryell. The power of Paco's
Paco's devotion to his music was the emergence ofguitar playing in his performances with these jazz
a blindingly fast picado technique. Picado is the namegreats is recorded in a video called Meeting Of The
for the rest stroke used by flamenco guitar playersSpirits. Paco is on record telling of his struggles to
to play scale passages. This fast picking was heavilylearn how to improvise in order to keep up with his
featured in Paco de Lucia's early flamenco guitarfellow guitarists.
records and concerts. Paco also began making use ofThis trio of guitar virtuosos was finalized when Al
his interest in jazz to bring some new sounds toDimeola replaced Larry Coryell and they have
flamenco guitar solos.continued to perform together. Paco also performs
For many years Flamenco guitar solo playing waswith his own jazz influenced group, the Paco De Lucia
dominated by Sabicas who drew heavily on theSextet. The wider audience of music lovers was
works of Spanish classical music composers for hisexposed to the beauty of Paco De Lucia's flamenco
falsetas - the themes used to make up flamencoguitar playing in 1995 when he played on Have You
guitar solos and instrumental breaks in flamencoEver Really Loved A Woman? by Bryan Adams.
ensemble performances. Paco de Lucia made a breakIn the early nineteen seventies Paco recorded a
from the influence of Sabicas, sparking a newdouble album of the works of Spanish composer
interest in flamenco guitar playing from a generationManuel De Falla. This was not particularly well received
of young Spanish men who had been morebut his 1991 performance of Joaquin Rodrigo's
interested in American music than flamenco.Concierto de Aranjuez gave Paco some street cred
Paco de Lucia spent the years 1969 to 1977 playingwith classical guitar fans.