Vicente Amigo Girol is a Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist, born in Guadalcanal near Seville. He has played as an accompanying guitarist on recordings by flamenco singers Camarón de la Isla, and Luis de Córdoba, and he has acted as a producer for Remedios Amaya and José Mercé. His album Ciudad de las Ideas won the 2001 Latin Grammy for the Best Flamenco Album and the 2002 Ondas award for the best Flamenco work.

The album "El Paradís de les Paraules" of the musician and Valencian singer Carles Denia, has been considered by the magazine "Sons" as the best album of Catalan folk music in 2011. The work itself has been to put music to the Arab-Valencian poets between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. The translation of texts from Arabic into Catalan has been the work of the prestigious Valencian poet Josep Piera, with the help of the philologist Joseph Gregori.

Rafael Jimenez Falo is a Gypsy singer born in Oviedo (northern Spain) in 1964. He started performing at - penas flamencos - Flamenco clubs at an early age and he considers the Enrique Morente pena key to his development as an artist. There, he met Flamenco artists from Andalusia and other parts of Spain who gave him a broad vision of Flamenco art.

Formed in France, but rooted in Spanish flamenco tradition, the Gipsy Kings began incorporating pop into their buoyant Latin sound in the late 1980s, eventually leading to massive international success. Released in 1991, ESTE MUNDO finds the ensemble offering up a potent set of acoustic guitar-driven tunes that are marked by percussive strumming, dexterous lead work, and the husky, emotive vocals of bandleader Nicholas Reyes. The core group of six-string players is bolstered on some songs by bass, horns, and/or drums, giving ESTE MUNDO a vibrant atmosphere, particularly on songs such as the surging "Baila Me" and the dreamy title track. Although much of the album is upbeat, the Gipsy Kings also ease into a few mellow instrumental numbers, including the gentle "Lagrimas" and the slightly funky "Ternuras." One of the most consistent and confident outings in the Gipsy Kings' catalogue, ESTE MUNDO is sure to please flamenco aficionados and many other world music fans.

The Gipsy Kings are never going to have the kind of critical acclaim that Paco de Lucia has, but their popularization of poppy rumba flamenca among non-Spanish speakers is nothing to be ashamed of. Nonetheless, here on Roots, the octet turns back to the tradition while making their own imprint on it. Having the band record in an old farm house, producer Craig Street, it seems, simply told them to sit down to play their bittersweet songs. Without electric instruments or a drum set to clutter the mix, brisk acoustic guitars will sweep listeners up in the driving rhythms as lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo soars overhead, particularly on the instrumental songs. When Nicolas, Canut and Patchai Reyes take turns on lead vocals, Street adeptly captures the timbre and nuance of the singers' voices while also delicately balancing the guitar, hand percussion and bass. No pop songs or bombastic rock beats:here's one that purists cannot argue with.

The Gipsy Kings had major crossover success with their splendid and innovative third album, which used drums, bass, percussion, and synthesizer to beef up the sound. This French import is their first album from 1983, and it is a much more traditional affair, with only acoustic guitars, voices, and hand claps. It shows that artistically the sound did not need to be beefed up; the music is still wonderful. How can an array of seven guitars and full-throated passion not be wonderful? Commercially, the additions to their sound helped break The Gipsy Kings through to a larger audience, but now that their name is known, it should be possible for more people to go back and appreciate this album. It is in no way crude or unpolished, and the artistry and playing are of an equally high quality.

Be warned – this is an album that will grow on you very quickly. Jesse Cook is a Canadian flamenco guitarist who took the world fusion route at some point, basing his playing against a wonderful mix and match of percussion, synthesizers and samplers…

As one of the most innovative of Nuevo Flamenco guitarists, Armik has lifted the music genre to new heights with his repertoire of chart-topping hits. His exciting guitar virtuosity reveals much about Armik- the artist - and also demonstrates his great skills as a thematic writer of love songs which were included in his two previous volumes titled Romantic Spanish Guitar. Now, in the same concise shades of love that made his first two volumes mega hits with his devoted fans, Romantic Spanish Guitar, Volume 3, is the consummation of a trilogy of great love songs. It is also a wealth of romantic experiences straight from Armik’s heartstrings. His exemplary performances on these songs are not only showcases that expand on the stories he told in Romantic Spanish Guitar, Volumes One and Two, but are based upon the very essence of his Nuevo flamenco guitar virtuosity.

The Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in the south of France, who perform in the Spanish language with an Andalusian accent. Although group members were born in France, their parents were mostly gitanos, Berber-Moroccan and Spanish gypsies who fled Catalonia during the 1930s Spanish Civil War. They are known for bringing Catalan rumba, a pop-oriented music distantly derived from traditional flamenco music, to worldwide audiences. The group originally called itself Los Reyes. Their music has a particular rumba flamenca style, with pop influences; many songs of the Gipsy Kings fit social dances, such as salsa and rumba. Their music has been described as a place where "Spanish flamenco and gypsy rhapsody meet salsa funk".

While the vinyl resurgence continues unabated, sales of Rodrigo y Gabriela on compact disc continue to be strong. Indeed, the recent release of their Jazz EP on limited edition vinyl (now sold out) prompted many Rod and Gab fans to ask their record label: "can I get this on CD?" The fans spoke, Rubyworks listened. This release brings together the shredded heat of their fiery heavy rock tribute - the Mettal EP - which includes blistering attacks on tracks by Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer and the aforementioned Jazz EP, which features stunning, cinematica reworkings of songs by Kamasi Washington, Snarky Puppy and Astor Piazzolla. Jazz and Metal, Heaven and Hell, Beauty and the beast. Both sides of Rodrigo y Gabriela on one six track CD.

Ottmar Liebert's popular Nouveau Flamenco sound has never paid strict homage to the history of Spanish guitar; rather, it has combined tradition with modern pop influences to create an accessible style that successfully bridges new age, jazz, and worldbeat. Paris born, Toronto bred Jesse Cook draws from the same ancient rhythms, but takes even more aggressive liberties with the form. So much so, in fact, that he labels the back sleeve of his new Narada Equinox disc, Gravity, with a colorful explanation of his unique hybrid: "Gravity Is Rumba Flamenco World Beat Jazz Pop."…

There's very little doubt that the Gipsy Kings are good at what they do–they've become the brand name in Sevillana, the pop-oriented flamenco style. Since 1989, when the single "Bamboleo" and their Gipsy Kings album broke through and went gold in the United States, they've found a willing audience in America for their style, which, while flashy, doesn't demand a great deal of the listener, unlike more hardcore versions of flamenco. This double set collects 38 of their biggest tracks, including a version of the Eagles' "Hotel California," into one package guaranteed to satisfy fans of their precise, jubilant playing. And there's no denying they have the power to move people with their singing and fretwork, making this a must for those who want to experience all the familiar material in one sitting. Like the band themselves, the record is an unqualified success as a greatest hits package.

Two years after they recorded Friday Night in San Francisco, John McLaughlin, Al di Meola and Paco de Lucía reunited for another set of acoustic guitar trios, Passion, Grace and Fire, If this can be considered a guitar "battle" (some of the playing is ferocious and these speed demons do not let up too often), then the result is a three-way tie. This guitar summit lives up to its title.

With the death from lung cancer of Camarón de la Isla (born José Monge Cruz) on July 2, 1992, flamenco lost one of its greatest vocalists. The son of a basket-maker, de la Isla revolutionalized the flamenco tradition with his contemporary-minded approach. His debut 1969 album, Con la Colaboracion Especial de Paco de Lucia, recorded with the accompaniment of virtuosic guitarist Paco de Lucia, remains one of flamenco's classic recordings. Although he retired from touring in 1979, de la Isla continued to produce groundbreaking albums. His 1980 album, La Leyenda del Tiempo – which was marked by rock, jazz, and Oriental influences and the use of non-flamenco instruments, including bass, drums, percussion, electric piano, Moog, keyboards, electric guitar, flute, and zither – sold nearly 6,000 copies. His 1989 recording, Soy Gitano, recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, became the first album in Spain to be certified gold, with sales of 50,000 copies. De la Isla's last album, Potro de Rabia y Miel, followed two years later. De Lucia paid tribute to his former collaborator with a tune, "Camaron," that he included on his 1998 album Luzia. The song marked De Lucia's debut as a vocalist. "While others sang songs with social content," De Lucia said, "Camarón's cracked voice could evoke, on its own, the desperation of a people." The second of eight children, Camarón was born in the small Cadiz village of San Fernando. Acquiring his nickname, "Camarón," because of his blonde hair, he began performing in public at the age of eight. In December 2000, Camarón's widow, Dolores "Chispa" Montoya, received the prestigious Golden Key Award of Song on his behalf.

12 canciones de García Lorca para guitarra (12 Songs by García Lorca for Guitar) is an album by Paco de Lucía and Ricardo Modrego. It is the second of three collaboration albums between the duo.