Paco deLucía
The man who split flamenco history into before and after
Paco de Lucía
The man who split flamenco history into before and after
Francisco Sánchez Gómez was born in Algeciras in 1947, the youngest son of a guitarist father who made him practise for many hours a day from early childhood. He took his stage name from his Portuguese mother, Lúcia. At eleven he made his first public appearance on Radio Algeciras, and in 1961 he recorded with his brother Pepe as Los Chiquitos de Algeciras. As a teenager he toured with a flamenco troupe, meeting masters like Sabicas and Mario Escudero, who encouraged him to write his own music.
His solo debut came in 1967, the same year he heard Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk at the Berlin Jazz Festival. From 1968 he began a partnership with the singer Camarón de la Isla, and their ten albums together transformed modern flamenco. His own records grew bolder too. Entre dos aguas, a rumba with bongos and electric bass from Fuente y caudal (1973), became a surprise hit, and in 1975 he became the first flamenco artist to play Madrid's Teatro Real.
Almoraima (1976) added Arabic colours and an oud, and after a trip to Peru he brought the cajón into flamenco. In 1979 he joined John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell in the Guitar Trio. With Al Di Meola replacing Coryell, the group's Friday Night in San Francisco (1981) sold more than a million copies. He also formed his own sextet, acted in Carlos Saura's film Carmen, and co-wrote the score for The Hit with Eric Clapton.
Later milestones included Siroco (1987), often called his finest album, Zyryab with Chick Corea, and a 1991 recording of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, which pushed him to become a fluent reader of written music. In 2004 he won the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, and Cositas Buenas won a Latin Grammy. He toured less and less, and died of a heart attack in Mexico in February 2014 while playing football with his son. His last album, Canción Andaluza, won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year.
The 10 greatest Paco de Lucía solos
- 1Paco de Lucía · solo by Paco de Lucía · 1973
- 2Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin & Paco de Lucia · solo by Al Di Meola & Paco de Lucia · 1981
- 3Paco de Lucía · solo by Paco de Lucía · 1976
- 4Al Di Meola & Paco de Lucía · solo by Al Di Meola & Paco de Lucía · 1977
- 5Paco de Lucía · solo by Paco de Lucía · 1987
- 6Paco de Lucía · solo by Paco de Lucía · 1987
- 7Paco de Lucía · solo by Paco de Lucía, Manolo Sanlúcar · 1990
- 8Paco de Lucía · solo by Paco de Lucía · 1991
- 9Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía · solo by Paco de Lucía · 1981
- 10Paco de Lucía · solo by Paco de Lucía · 1976
The sound
Paco de Lucía's right hand set a new standard for flamenco. His picado runs, played with alternating fingers, are blindingly fast yet clear, and he sets them against thunderous rasgueado strums, crisp thumb work and delicate arpeggios. He kept the fire and rhythmic precision of the traditional forms, from bulerías to soleá, but brought in jazz-influenced chord voicings, unusual scale tones and Arabic and Brazilian colours. His tone is dry and percussive but still singing. He was always searching, and his improvisations with jazz players showed he could swing without losing flamenco's accent.
- Conde Hermanos flamenco guitar (guitar) The Madrid workshop's guitars were his most frequent choice for much of his career.
- Conde Hermanos Paco de Lucía signature model (guitar) A signature model among the instruments in his collection.
- Golpeador tap plate (guitar) The protective plate on a flamenco guitar that takes the golpe finger taps he used in his rhythms.
- Cejilla (capo) (effect) A flamenco capo that let him move each palo into the right key and colour.
- Cajón (effect) Not guitar gear but the Peruvian box drum his band brought into flamenco in the late 1970s. It changed the music's rhythm section.
Covers
- Concierto de Aranjuez, originally by Joaquín Rodrigo His first major encounter with written orchestral music, played with a flamenco spirit.
- Frevo Rasgado, originally by Egberto Gismonti He and McLaughlin make the Brazilian frevo a joyful acoustic duet.
- Fantasia Suite, originally by Al Di Meola A three-guitar piece where his runs shine alongside two fusion virtuosos.
- María la O, originally by Ernesto Lecuona A classic Cuban-Spanish song reworked for his last album, a tribute to the songs of his youth.
- Ojos verdes, originally by Concha Piquer (popularised) A copla standard turned into a tender guitar song, the melody sung by his strings.
Timeline
- 1947 Born December 21 in Algeciras as Francisco Sánchez Gómez
- 1958 First public appearance on Radio Algeciras, at age 11
- 1961 Records with brother Pepe as Los Chiquitos de Algeciras
- 1967 Solo debut album; hears Miles Davis at the Berlin Jazz Festival
- 1968 Begins recording with Camarón de la Isla
- 1973 Fuente y caudal and its hit Entre dos aguas
- 1975 First flamenco artist to play Madrid's Teatro Real
- 1981 Friday Night in San Francisco released
- 2004 Wins the Prince of Asturias Award; Cositas Buenas wins a Latin Grammy
- 2014 Dies February 25 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Facts
- His birth name was Francisco Sánchez Gómez; de Lucía came from his mother's name, Lúcia.
- His father had him practising up to 12 hours a day as a child.
- He introduced the Peruvian cajón to flamenco after a visit to Peru.
- He could not read music comfortably until he prepared the Concierto de Aranjuez in 1991.
- He appeared as an actor in Carlos Saura's 1983 film Carmen.
- He co-wrote the score for the 1984 film The Hit with Eric Clapton.
- His final album, Canción Andaluza, won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year after his death.
- A Madrid Metro Line 9 station is named after him.
- Google honoured him with a Doodle on what would have been his 69th birthday in 2016.
- A statue in his memory overlooks the harbour of his hometown, Algeciras.