One of the most respected, talented and successful artists - a rare combination these days - has just passed into immortality. A master of music in general and of the Spanish guitar in particular. We are talking about Francisco Sánchez Gómez, better known as Paco de Lucía (named after his mother, born in Portugal, Lucía Gomes), who died today, Wednesday, February 27, 2014, at the age of 66, apparently from cardiac arrest according to information circulating on the Internet . For every music teacher who gives a class in the classroom about contemporary Spanish music, the name of Paco de Lucía it is unavoidable. It is like the immediate association between the Combate de Angamos and Miguel Grau. That is why we want to dedicate a space to this master of the six strings who leaves us a brilliant and indispensable musical legacy.
Paco de Lucía he embodied the best example of a universal musician:he brought the folklore of his native land Algeciras (Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain), which he cultivated since he was a child, to the whole world without altering its essence or its sound. Considered a genius of flamenco guitar and the driving force behind New Flamenco, he incorporated elements of contemporary classical music, jazz, bossa nova, and Latin music into his spirited phrasing that seemed like blazes of Spanish fire. These combinations were all the product of his intense and brilliant creativity, which made him the favorite guitarist of millions of people on five continents.
He was admired by many people, music lovers and scholars, but perhaps one of his greatest achievements is that he was recognized as the best among his peers, other outstanding performers of this faithful wooden instrument who showed deep respect every time they heard his name or had the opportunity to share stages with him. And he enjoyed sharing the stage with his fellow musicians, almost unaware of his genius, with a simplicity and humility that many others, today's underdogs, should learn.
Paco de Lucía he recorded more than 60 albums between 1965 and 2011, live and in concert. He has accompanied gypsy singers of the stature of Camarón de la Isla (real name:José Monje Cruz), Fosforito or Antonio Mairena, among others; rock singers like Bryan Adams; and he has collaborated with guitarists from all over the world, from jazz and classical music, from Middle Eastern music and Brazilian music.
This master of the strings had a very special relationship with our country, which he visited for the last time a few months ago, in October 2013, to offer an extraordinary concert in the great National theater. Many still do not know that he was Paco de Lucía the first flamenco musician to incorporate the Peruvian cajon into his ensemble and that, as a result of this fact, the world music community began to associate our cajon with Spanish music, to the point that many believe, even today, that the Cajon comes from Spain and not from Peru. Such was the popularity of Paco de Lucía at a global level and his honesty was so great that he never missed an opportunity to say that the drawer was Peruvian. And that two friends of his, great national musicians, had given it to him:Pepe Torres and Carlos Caitro Soto.
De Lucía was characterized by his innovation and color in the harmonies and his remarkable dexterity, technique, strength and fluidity in his right hand, capable of executing extremely fast and complicated phrasing. A master of contrast, he often made juxtapositions between solos and strumming combined with other techniques and even added abstract chords and tonal scales to his compositions. These innovations allowed him to cover a wide range of styles without losing the perspective of a free, organic and natural flamenco musician.
he was an unrepeatable master but his music remains. The education of our children can be greatly enriched and broaden their horizons if we open their minds -and ours- to the true musicians who, like Paco de Lucía , they remain at the forefront and on the fringes of fashions and the ease of proposals of little or no importance. The music that he made Paco de Lucía it connects with history, with geography, with the idiosyncrasy of a people, as well as with the tenacity of coming up from below on the basis of talent and discipline. All those values enclosed in a single guitar artist. Goodbye, master.
http://www.elmundo.es/cultura/2014/02/26/530da7dbca4741fe668b456b.html