Flamenco, in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, originating in the region of Andalusia, but also having a historical presence in Extremadura and Murcia. In a wider sense, the term is used to refer to a variety of Spanish musical styles. The oldest record of flamenco music dates to 1774 in the book Las Cartas Marruecas by José Cadalso. Although Flamenco is often associated to the Gitano ethnicity who have contributed significantly to its development, its origin and style are uniquely Andalusian and Flamenco artists have historically included Spaniards of both gitano and non-gitano heritage.
Vicente Montolíu Massana, better known as Tete Montoliu was a jazz pianist from Catalonia, Spain. Born blind, he learnt Braille music at age seven. His styles varied from hard bop, through afro-cuban, world fusion, to post bop. He recorded with Lionel Hampton in 1956 and played with saxophonist Roland Kirk in 1963. He also worked with leading American jazz musicians who toured in, or relocated to Europe including Kenny Dorham, Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster, Lucky Thompson, and Anthony Braxton. Tete Montoliu recorded two albums in the US, and recorded for Enja, SteepleChase Records, and Soul Note in Europe.
The music of Catalonia comprises one of the oldest documented musical traditions in Europe. In tandem with the rest of Western Europe, it has a long musical tradition, incorporating a number of different styles and genres over the past two thousand years.
Munir Bashir, the King of Oud was an Iraqi Assyrian musician and one of the most famous musicians in the Middle East during the 20th century and was considered to be the supreme master of the Arab maqamat scale system.
Jesse Arnaud Cook is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, Acoustic Guitar Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year. He has recorded on the EMI, E1 Music and Narada labels and has sold over 1.5 million records worldwide.
Carlos Suriñachi Wrokona was a Spanish-born composer and conductor.
Juan Manén was a Spanish violinist and composer, born in Barcelona.
Lluís Claret is an Andorran cellist. He was born in Andorra in 1951 where he began his musical education at the age of 9. In 1964 he moved to Barcelona, won major distinctions at the Conservatory of the Liceu, and began working with Enric Casals. Claret continued his studies in France, Italy and in the USA. Throughout his career he has been especially committed to chamber music.
Joan Albert Amargós is a Spanish composer and conductor born in Barcelona in 1950. Amargós is an instrumentalist on piano and clarinet, and has composed a number of chamber and symphonic works. He is also a great connoisseur of Flamenco, which has served as the basis for some of his compositions, which always breathe a brightness and colour distinctly Mediterranean.
Francisco Casanovas Tallardá was a Spanish conductor, composer, pedagogue, clarinetist, saxophonist and flautist.
Joaquín Zamacois y Soler was a Chilean-Spanish composer, music teacher and author. He comes from a well-known family of Spanish artists.
Ali Khattab is an Egyptian composer and guitarist. In his works, he combines the elements of two musical worlds and traditions: The Arab-Oriental and the Gypsy-Andalusian, flamenco. From the age of seventeen, the time when he first starts performing on stage, everything he does is meant to lead him to two places: the cradle of flamenco, Jerez de la Frontera. From then on, Ali spends a lot of time in Andalucia, meeting and performing with influential flamenco musicians, singers, guitarists, and dancers who introduce him to the true universe of flamenco. Following a tour in Spain and the middle east, Ali Khattab's first album named "Al Zarqa", was released in March 2010 in Madrid, Spain. In a recent radio interview the artist explained that his music as the name of his album is like a blue eyed brunette a mix of two worlds in perfect harmony.
Yahya Hawwa is a Syrian singer. He is known for his songs on the Syrian Revolution. His songs mainly focus on human rights, human issues and political issues, faith, and spirituality. He is also well known for the 2008 hit song "Hayati kulluha lillah".
Miguel Ángel Poveda León is a Spanish flamenco singer known by his stage name "Miguel Poveda". His father is from Lorca in Murcia and his mother from Puertollano. Poveda is a flamenco singer and interpreter of other genres. He has collaborated with artists from various disciplines who were previously unknown to flamenco audiences. In 2003, he moved to Seville. He often collaborates with Spanish flamenco guitarist Juan Gómez "Chicuelo", with whom he has toured extensively in Europe, Japan and the US.
Francesc Viñas i Dordal was a Spanish operatic tenor. He is also known by the Spanish version of his name, Francisco Viñas and the Italian version, Francesco Vignas. He was particularly known for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and sang in the first production of Parsifal outside Bayreuth.
Enric Palomar is a Catalan composer.
Lluís Millet i Pagès was a Spanish Catalan composer, musician and co-founder of Orfeó Català in 1891.
Gani is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Sergio Pamies (1983) is a Spanish jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, who has published three albums under his name, and appears in several recordings as a sideman.
Marià Obiols, also known as Mariano Obiols, was a Catalan composer, conductor, and professor of music. He served as the music director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona from its founding in 1847 until his death. A protégé of Saverio Mercadante, he composed three operas, the cantata Il regio imeneo which inaugurated the Liceu theatre, art songs, chamber music, and several pieces of sacred music. His vocal music was largely Italianate in style, reflecting his years of study in Italy as well as the influence of Mercadante. As a professor at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu, Obiols influenced the development numerous singers, composers, and conductors and wrote books on piano and solfège methods which became standard texts at the conservatory.
