Acoustic Guitar Player

This recording of Paco doing  Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo must be one of the most beautiful and sublime recordings ever made.  

Paul Gilbert on acoustic guitar, you may remember him from Racer X and Mr Big.  In this youtube video he’s on a nylon string guitar.  He is quite clear about his abilities at playing something that resembles Flamenco.  It’s worth watching his fretting hand closely, I’ve seen very few guitar players with such long fingers. I like to see players take a style or a tune and make it their own, and this is a perfect example of it.  His right hand has a very ‘tight’ sort of technique, unusual but effective.  Watching him play it’s easy to see his dedication and commitment to guitar.  I’m very impressed, his music has a freshness to it.  And the fact that he toured in 2007 with Satriani is no doubt a certification of how good he really is.

Enjoy. If you want to see some contemporay flamenco guitar, check out Paco de Lucia

Flamenco Guitar and Paco de Lucia for most of us are one and the same.  Paco and his guitar have been on the world stage for some years now.  His no nonsense approach has set the benchmark for other players to work towards. Many people became aware of him because of his playing in the trio with John McLaughlin and Al di Meola, or John McLaughlin and Lary Corryell.  I have a magnificent recording of him playing the music of Manuel  De Falla’s Three Cornered Hat.

This video was recorded just over 30 years ago, so keep in mind the standard that Paco is playing to now.  Another player that I also enjoy is Paco Pena, less fiery as de Lucia but still brilliant. 

Paco de Lucia’s music has transcended styles and has added a new dimension to Flamenco guitar by using elements of contemporary jazz.  Although this music is on nylon string guitar it is more than a worthy addition to this acoustic guitar site as many younger players may not be aware of Paco’s brilliance.

For transcriptions of Paco’s music, see below.

Paco de Lucia Scores, Book 1 La fabulosa guitarra de Paco de Lucia. For Guitar (Classical). Transcribed solos. RGB Arte Visual. Flamenco. Level: Intermediate-Advanced. Book. 160 pages. Published by RGB Arte Visual. (20983) See more info…