Juan Manuel Cañizares

Cañizares was born in Sabadell, Spain in the year 1966, coming from an Andalucian family that, like so many others, immigrated to Barcelona in the 1950´s. His father was a great aficionado of the guitar and as luck would have it, he received as a prize in a country fair- a guitar. Cañizares´ father didn’t hesitate to immediately begin studying flamenco guitar. The professor became aware of the talent of his sons, Rafael and Juan Manuel, and he encouraged them to study the guitar more in depth. Rafael and Juan Manuel learned very quickly, to the point that with only 10 years of age, Juan Manuel entered the Municipal Conservatory of Sabadell to continue his studies in Terrasa and Barcelona. In 1982, Juan Manuel received the "National Prize for the Guitar" in Jerez. The news was spreading that, "The guitarist of the future had appeared". In 1989 he started touring with the group, "El último de la fila". He continued collaborating with other musicians, being chosen by Peter Gabriel to put out a compilation album for the Real World label. His list of collaborations is immense; Camaron, Morente, Serrat, Marc Almond (leader of Soft Cell) La Fura dels Baus, Michael Brecker, Al Di Mieola, etc. However the most decisive experience of his career has been his encounter with Paco de Lucia. With Paco and José María Bandera, he joins a trio that toured extensively between 1989 and 1992. The tour culminated with the recording of "Suite Iberia", by Isaac Albéniz, who appeared to play with Paco de Lucía in the concert of Aranjuez. Since then, the symbiosis between Paco and Juan Manuel has not stopped growing. This rich quality is present in each of Cañizares works, whether it be next to Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent and the Big Band of the WDR in the CD, "Jazzpaña" (with arrangements by Arif Mardin and Vince Mendoza) or in his composition for the soundtrack of the film, "La Lola se va a los puertos". Cañizares plays on Enrique Morente´s "Omega" where he demonstrates again his ability to adapt different styles on top of his increasingly distinct and recognizable sound. His first solo album has been very well received by the critics, and has converted him into a reference for a more modern and coherent sound. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.