Chano
was born in Cádiz, on the 29th of March 1960.Chano
received his first musical impressions from his father, a
great aficionado of flamenco. At the age of 8, his parents
bought him his first instrument, a flamenco guitar. Thus he
began to practise, self-taught, everything he heard on his
father’s flamenco recordings, in order to play later
with his neighbourhood friends.
At
the age of eighteen he formed his first group, CAI,
and recorded his first disc. This group made three recordings
for the CBS label .
The
decade of the 80s brought the jump to the international jazz
scene with the legendary group HISCADIX,
winners of the First National Young Interpreters Contest,
celebrated in Palma de Mallorca in 1986. In 1987 he participated
in the U.E.R International Festival in Sweden; in 1988 he
toured Germany and the following year, Belgium; in 1990 he
reached the finals of the International Piano Competition
Martial Solal, held in Paris.
His
unique musical discourse has been praised by such musicians
as Richie Beirach, Bill Dobbins, Joe Henderson and Kenny Werner,
with whom he has studied in various seminars.
En
1992 he formed his own Trio with the intention of joining
the flamenco rhythms (Alegrías, Soleares and Bulerías)
in fusion with the musical forms of jazz. He released his
first solo disc “Chano”
where he is backed by his trio, comprising Javier Colina
and Guillermo McGill.
In
1994 with Jorge Pardo he recorded “10
de Paco” based on the compositions of the andaluz
musician Paco de Lucía. In 1995 he recorded “Coplas
de Madrugá” with Martirio.
In
1996 he recorded “Hecho a Mano”
which constitutes a significant and mature advance in his
Jazz-Flamenco discourse.
In 1997 he was asked by the S.G.A.E. to represent music with
Latin roots at the Midem held in Miami, where he performed
in concert with the Dominican jazz pianist Michel Camilo.
In December of that year his live disc “Piano
Solo” was released.
In
early 98 Ana Belén asked him to carry out the composition,
arrangement and production of the CD “Lorquiana”,
where popular themes collected by Federico García Lorca
are rearranged. He was invited by the S.G.A.E and the Fundación
Autor to perform at the International JAZZ Plaza 98 Festival
held in Havana. The magazine “Cuaderno
de Jazz” awarded him the Best CD of the Year prize for
the live recording “Piano Solo”. He was
prize winner in the III edition of the PREMIOS de la Música
Best Album award for “Piano Solo”. He collaborated
with the great Cuban composer Marta Valdés on production
and direction of the CD “Tu no
Sospechas”.
His
next CD is “Imán”
in collaboration with various artists such as: Enrique
Morente, Luis de la Pica, Blas Córdoba, and his own
trio. Nominated in the IV edition of the Premios de la Música.
He participated in Fernando Trueba’s project “CALLE
54” with musicians such as: Tito Puente, Gato
Barbieri, Chucho Valdés, Paquito De Rivera, Jerry González,
Michel Camilo and Eliane Elías.
He was also invited to the International Festival in Miami.
Performed in the prize giving ceremony of the Goya Awards
2000. Winner of the IV edition of the
PREMIOS DE LA MÚSICA, in the category Best Jazz
Album “Imán”. Went on to Cuba where he
performed alongside Herbie Hancock at the festival in Havana.
In
2002 he recorded his new CD “Oye
Cómo Viene” for Lola records, which was
nominated in the Latin Jazz category of the Grammy’s.
This disc was recorded in DVD by Fernando Trueba’s team
and released under the title “Mira
Cómo Viene”.
Throughout
2002, with his sextet he took part in various tours within
Europe and the Americas with many of the artists from the
film “Calle 54”, achieving great success in the
Montreaux Festival, and concerts in Istanbul, Washington,
Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and sharing the stage with Paquito
de Rivera, Jerry Gonzalez and Eliane Elias, among others.
The
following year, 2003 he was invited with his sextet to the
United States because of the success during the previous tours.
Winton Marsalis invited him to the Lincoln Center in New York,
and he triumphed in prestigious festivals such as Chicago
and San Francisco where critics gushed their praises.
In
the near future we shall see Chano’s next work, currently
in progress, titled “New Flamenco
Sound", in which Chano is accompanied by excellent
musicians such as Marc Miralta, Mario Rossy, Israel Suárez
, Blas Keijo and Tomasito, culminating in a unique, top quality
show.
