FRANC O'SHEA is the Musick 'Alkemist'. He is the composer,
arranger, electric bass guitarist, producer and recording engineer
of ALKIMIA. He has also set up the record label Azulah to release
this album. You can find more info on Franc on www.francoshea.com and www.myspace.com/francosheamusic.
JORGE PARDO on flute is one of the most outstanding and
consistent revelations of the flamenco/jazz fusion. He is one of the
most international known Spanish jazz players. He became renowned in
the flamenco world through his work with Paco de Lucía, and has
achieved a seamless blending of jazz with flamenco. His playing
style, with flute as well as saxophone, has become a referential
point of flamenco jazz fusion. Apart of working with the Paco de
Lucía "Sextet", he also has played with many important flamenco and
international jazz artists such as Camarón de la Isla, Ketama, La
Barberia del Sur, Astrud Gilberto, Michael Brecker, Al di Meola,
etc. He has won many awards and released several excellent albums in
his own name. He is currently touring with Chick Corea as part of
his Touchstone band. www.jorgepardo.com.
RUBEM DANTAS on percussion: renowned worldwide for his ongoing
collaborations with the flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia since the
late 70's. While in Peru, Rubem discovered the native percussion
instrument, the cajón. He felt that this instrument could add a new
dimension to the already pioneering flamenco sound he was helping
create, and, after he introduced it, the cajón became one of the
central instruments of flamenco music. He has worked with the likes
of Enrique Morente, Camarón de la Isla,Tomatito, Ketama, Paquito
D'Rivera, Gilberto Gil, Michael Brecker, Avishai Cohen, Al di Meola,
etc. He is currently touring with Chick Corea as part of his
Touchstone band. www.rubemdantas.com.
JUAN MANUEL CAÑIZARES on flamenco guitar: this incredible
guitarist is well known for his trio work with Paco de Lucia
(documented on the famous video and CD 'Concierto de Aranjuez') and
his work in Paco de Lucia’s septet. He is known for his work on the
'Jazzpaña' album where he collaborated with Michael Brecker, Al Di
Meola, Peter Erskine, Steve Khan, etc. He has also collaborated with
Camarón de la Isla, Enrique Morente, José Merce, Hevia, Al di Meola,
Peter Gabriel, Mike Stern, etc. www.jmcanizares.com.
BENJAMIN SARFAS on violin: Peruvian prodigy with a dazzling
technical ability and improvisational daring that belie his age. Ben
grew up with the sounds of Latin America and when he moved to
England at the age of 6 he progressed to the World Jazz music of
L.Shankar and Jean Luc Ponty who inspired him to take up violin at
this early age. He has appeared on many recordings including
Brazilian combo Bazeado's acclaimed 'Requebra Nega' album. He also
plays with the British nuevo flamenco ensemble 'Candela'.
PHILIPPE BARNES on flute: talented Irish flute virtuoso who was
a finalist in the BBC Young Folk Musician of 1999. His debut solo
album ‘An Feochan’ (Irish folk) received excellent reviews in many
top Folk/World publications such as Folk Roots, Traditional Music
Maker, Folk News and Irish Music with the latter saying of him ‘I’ve
heard nobody else who can mould their tone to fit the tune so
nicely’. He is also part of the Celtic Jazz Funk group 'All Jigged
Out' and the British nuevo flamenco ensemble 'Candela', and played
with the likes of Flook, Mike McGoldrick, etc. www.philippebarnes.com.
CHEMA VILCHEZ on flamenco guitar. 'One of the most important
names in the present panorama of music' (GuitBass). Renowned as
Spain's premier jazz fusion guitarist, he not only masters the
electric guitar but also the flamenco guitar and has collaborated
with the likes of Eric Marienthal, Alex Acuña, Alphonso Johnson,
Gary Willis, John Patitucci, Dave Weckl, Richard Bona, Orquesta
Nacional de Jazz de España, among others. He has released several solo albums always with collaborations from excellent musicians. He is the founder of the prestigious music school in Spain, the Institute of Music & Technology (IMT). www.chemavilchez.com.
NAN MERCADER on percussion. Renowned percussionist who has worked with almost everyone in the Spanish music scene from flamenco to pop to jazz. and with international renowned figures like the bass player Carles Benavent (bass player in the Paco de Lucia's sextet), Tete Montoliu, Eladio Reinon, Maite Martin, Celia Cruz, Oscar Stagnaro, Dave Samuels, Max Sunyer trio, etc. He’s published the first method of flamenco percussion in the world (Carish/ Warner) with the collaboration of Carles Benavent & Jorge Pardo, and Methods of Djembé, Darbuka y Bongós as part of the ‘World Percussion’ DVD (in 5 languages):. He’s also formed Cajonmania, a group dedicated to the experimentation in flamenco percussion. Nan teaches master classes in percussion all over the world including recently Berklee College and New England School in Boston. He is also part of the contemporary flamenco group 'Ayatana'. www.nanmercader.com.
Also Serguei Sapricheff - tablas, José Cortés ‘El Pirata’, José Cortés ‘El Indio’ and Valentin Murillo - palmas and Tom Phelan - piano.
HOW ALKIMIA CAME ABOUT
‘Alkimia’ is a Magickal journey through European, Eastern and African music that transports the listener to a place where cultural elements blend and transmute into a timeless experience.
‘Alkimia’ is a finely honed collection of compositions. Featuring the writing talents of Franc O’Shea, it reveals a plethora of world percussion instruments including cajons, tinajas, talking drums and tablas, set in the mystical world of Arabic scales and Moorish melodies. Being an almost fully acoustic album, O’Shea sets out to show that the fretless bass is not merely an electric instrument but a fully expressive amplified acoustic instrument that blends seamlessly with Spanish guitar, flute and violin. Alkimia is a place where Flamenco meets hypnotic African rhythms, haunting harmonies with a melancholic wisp of Irish Folk, and fiery improvisations.
After the critical acclaim received for his first album, O’Shea began to search beyond the confines of electric Jazz instrumentation for his music. His eclectic approach to composition had already begun to bear fruit on his 1999 ‘Esprit’ album with tunes such as the African tinged ‘Bé for Baka’, but the coming years saw both a new musical and spiritual journey open before him. He could feel the call of the drums that he grew up with in Swaziland pulling him south.
Following a period of intensive study of Flamenco forms, O’Shea decided to pack his bags and make the move to Andalucía in Spain, the birthplace of Flamenco. This period turned out to be a four year sojourn and he became steeped in a culture full of musical treasures with Granada’s pungent mix of Arabic and Moorish melodies. Being of Irish, Spanish and African descent, O’Shea felt at home in this atmosphere where people and music come first and business later. He spent many a night jamming with the gypsy’s in the caves of the Sacromonte experiencing first hand the ‘duende’ of the Flamencos.
As O’Shea became established in Spain’s burgeoning Flamenco/Fusion scene, he got to know members of the legendary guitarist Paco de Lucia’s group. This included Spain’s top musicians Jorge Pardo and Rubem Dantas who are renowned on the world stage in their own right through their work with the likes of Astrud Gilberto, Chick Corea, Paquito D'Rivera, Camarón de Isla, Tomatito, Michael Brecker, Al Di Meola. Along with Paco’s second guitarist of ten years, Juan Manuel Cañizares, Jorge and Rubem agreed to collaborate on O’Shea’s Alkimia album.
Flautist and saxophonist Jorge Pardo was barely in his twenties when he began to share the world stage with de Lucia in the seventies. Renowned as the spearhead of the Nuevo Flamenco scene, with many awards under his belt, he has created a stylistic space all of his own, fusing elements of Flamenco, Moorish, African and Jazz music, securing a place as one of Spain’s greatest player/composers.
Rubem Dantas will forever go down in the annals of Flamenco history as the man who bought the Peruvian percussion instrument, the cajón (box), to flamenco music during his tenure with Paco’s band in the seventies. Realising the potential this instrument had to blend seamlessly with the guitar and palmas, he created a sound that is so associated with Flamenco that many are not aware that this instrument is a relative newcomer.
Both Rubem and Jorge appear on Chick Corea's most recent album 'The Ultimate Adventure' and are currently touring the world with his Touchstone band.
O’Shea also enlisted the talents of other great Spanish players such as the percussionist Nan Mercader and guitarist Chema Vilchez, another musician who crosses both the worlds of Flamenco and Jazz through his work with Richard Bona and John Patitucci. Not forgetting his Irish roots, O’Shea also called upon the renowned Folk flautist Philippe Barnes to add Celtic flavours, and the young Peruvian born violinist Benjamin Sarfas who’s improvisational daring belies his age.
