MASTERCLASS with the
Maestro Rafael RIQUENI
Oct 11 - 1pm - 2pm - Dairy Arts Center
BOULDER
FALL 23
Rafael Riqueni
Guitar - Grammy Nominee 2021
Rafael Riqueni was born on August 16th 1962, on Fabié street in the Triana neighbourhood of Seville. At twelve years of age, he gave his first performances as a soloist, and at fourteen he won the two main national guitar awards: the Ramón Montoya Prize in the VIII Córdoba Competition, and first prize in the VI National Competition of Jerez. In 1981 he went on to win first prize again in Jerez.
In 1986, Riqueni published what would become the first chapter of one of the most praised discographies in flamenco and Spanish music history, Juego de Niños, where he introduces novel harmonic and compositional concepts that began to define his unmistakable style with classical music influences. His next album, Flamenco, earned a cult following among generations of guitarists. In 1990, he achieved critical acclaim with Mi Tiempo, where Riqueni also composed string arrangements that acted as an extension of his guitar. The next album was Suite Sevilla, in 1993, a conceptual work inspired by flamenco and conceived under the influence of Spanish claxssical music impressionism. In 1994, Rafael Riqueni published Maestros, where he paid tribute to Niño Ricardo, Sabicas and Esteban de Sanlúcar.
In 1996, Alcázar de Cristal became his last album for twenty-one years. After meeting Paco Bech, the 2014 Sevilla Flamenco Bienal became the stage for his long-awaited comeback, where his performance of “Amarguras” resulted in one of the most celebrated highlights of the festival. Rafael Riqueni received the Bienal’s Giraldillo a la Maestría Prize, “For his universal and unmistakably-Sevillian music, which places him among the greatest masters in guitar history”.
At the end of 2015, he premieres Parque de María Luisa at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, in a concert that becomes a historical success and receives unanimous critical acclaim. The seventh album by Rafael Riqueni, Parque de María Luisa, is published by Universal Music in 2017, marking the return of one of the greatest musical geniuses that Spain has ever produced, a record that evokes his memories from this emblematic garden of eden in his city. Also in 2017, Rafael Riqueni gets the XXXI Compás del Cante Prize, while main newspapers and music press declare Parque de María Luisa masterpiece and the best flamenco guitar album in recent history.
In January 2020, Rafael Riqueni premieres a new album, Herencia, at the Teatro Lope de Vega in Seville. After an international tour, he receives the Guitarra con Alma Prize at The XXXIV Festival de Jerez…
Juani de la Isla
Guitar
Juani de la Isla is a highly respected flamenco guitarist, from the island of San Fernando, near the port city of Cádiz in southern Spain.
During his career, he has toured internationally accompanying some of the finest flamenco artists of this century: singers Jose Mercé, Chato de la Isla, Juan Villar, Rancapino, Pansequito and Aguilar de Vejer; and dancers Javier Barón, Sara Baras and Manuela Carrasco. He has composed music for the flamenco dance company of Cristina Hoyos and for over a decade has been the musical director for the popular flamenco singer “El Barrio.” Juani de la Isla’s recording career includes participation on more than 300 albums with some of Spain’s finest flamenco artists. In 2015, he released his first solo CD “Libertad En Mis Manos.”
Recently he toured the United States with the flamenco dance ensemble “La Chispa Company.” In 2018, he was a featured performer for the summer season of “Tablao Verano de Casa Flamenca”– a series of cabaret style flamenco performances at the well-known flamenco club in Albuquerque, as part of “Flamenco Sin Fronteras,” an artistic exchange project between the cities of Cadiz and Albuquerque.
El Cañejo
Singer
Raised in Barbate, his mother was known as 'La Cañeja', from whom he adopted his stage name. His unique voice, cracked and full of compás, allows him to sing the cante jondo with purity, transmitting great harmony in a carnival couplet or explodes flamenco-fusion with rhythm and melody.
Cañejo has been on stages all over Spain, as well as in Europe, where he has been part of a show together with the pianist Manolo Carrasco from Cádiz and the National Ballet.
He was part of the Zocaire group with which he recorded an album in 1999.
In 2016 he published his first album La luz que me guía.
He has been coming to the US since 2018, where he performs at Casa Flamenca and around the States since then.
SPRING ‘24
March 7th - 10th 2024
Boulder, Fort Collins, Lyons
Artists to be released soon.
Stay tuned!