…..and we haven’t been disappointed yet !!
It was the jazz media magazine All About Jazz that first alerted me to the talents of a musician who will be playing at El Fondeadero in Playa Blanca, here on the island on Saturday 4h November.
Born on Lanzarote in 1972 Diego Barber has become one of the greatest guitar-playing experts performing at an international level. His playing style sees him deliver his music with grandeur and majesty. His dynamics are both elevated and exquisite and his expression is deeply rooted in an extraordinary technique.
Barber’s style is beautiful as he lets his fingers fly lightly over the fretboard.
In fact the excellent jazz correspondent at the world renowned Billboard magazine once identified Diego Barber as a harbinger of things to come, even at the beginning of a brilliant career. He has certainly fulfilled all his potential and makes a difference in modern music.
When such perceptive comments are made by such August publications about an artist of whom I had until not previously heard, I tend to prick up my ears and head off in search of tickets to a live concert and / or an album to listen to. It is fantastic when I then find the artist playing on my street corner, as it were, that is a great bonus.
So, when I read that Barber approaches the guitar with extraordinary precision and fluidity and with great sensitivity and is adept at lending an air of mystery and mischief to embedded melodies in such a well-regarded magazine as Jazz Time I logged into Eco Entradas booking agency site and secured us a couple of tickets for 15 euros for this weekend’s gig.
The Trouble with beginning to browse the eco-entradas site is that it leads me down sidetracks and detours to music that sounds at times friendly and familiar and others fierce and frightening. As it happens, though, whenever I am asked about the kind of music I like I would put a tick in any of those boxes, so my main worry is usually simply about how much each trip might cost me.
On this occasion, as I wandered through ecoentradas, I first bumped into an act that was at once friendly and familiar.
Lanzarote Ensemble will be presenting a piece of just over an hour grandly entitled Twilight Of The Gods. These 22 musicians will showcase the orchestral fantasy which exposes Wagner’s genius in its fullness. In addition, the orchestra will perform the work “Piano Concerto No1” by the young local pianist Ernesto Alemán, making this concert an unrepeatable event. The work created for this occasion and especially for the Ensemble will be a new world premiere for the group.
Our Lanzarote Information have featured Lanzarote Ensemble writing about the orchestra serves as a kind of musical ambassador for Lanzarote, having played in London and many other major cities in the ten years or so since they were formed as part of a government initiative.
On this occasion they will be playing at El Salinero Theatre in Arrecife, on November 18th and tickets are only 10 euros.
The rock and soul sounds of Natalie Jiminez are very different, of course, and she too will be performing on Lanzarote as part of a tour celebrating her twenty years as a recording artist.
Recognized by music critics and the public alike as one of the most complete artists of her generation, Jiménez celebrates two decades of making music. Although singing as her chosen mode of expression as a performer / composer, she is know, too, as creator of a unique style in fashion who, in David Bowie manner, is an influencer and agent of change among her thoudands of followers.
Her concert on Lanzarote at The El Salinero Theatre in Arrecife on November 20th is previewed as likely to be summary of a widely diverse career that the artist will capture in what is an international tour. international tour. Tickets are available from ecoentradas (on line) at only 30 euros each, plus booking fee.
Her show will include all of his hits as a solo artist. Also those unforgettable songs from her time as vocalist of La Quinta Estación, the Spanish pop and ballad band that made her known throughout Latin America and the United States.
As you will have noted in the course of this article, ticket prices are quite varied, but it should also be noted that plenty of government-funded free concerts are held, too, on the island.
These concerts reflect the so many so many genres of music that have come to live on the island as a result of immigration and tourism. Since coming to live here we have been surprised at the local interest in Gospel music, and I have often written about The Lanzarote Gospel Choir, an incredibly charismatic and powerful local ensemble, as well as other Gospel outfits that have visited us to perform.
So, we are looking forward to hearing on December 10th , The Joshua Nelson Gospel Singers. This concert is priced at 27 euros per ticket and will be staged at the very beautiful and comfortable Municiple Theatre of St. Bartolome. There is a great pizza-restaurant just a short walk away from the theatre, so we also look forward to after-show supper.
The Soul Of Gospel is the name of this musical show, it is also a strap-line for experience that will no one unmoved. The Soul Of Gospel is rooted in the best African-American musical traditions and represents a community culture where free expression and beauty go hand in hand.
I hope this article will be read by anyone who believes that we all retire to Lanzarote for the hot sun, warm sea and chilled drinks, because that assumption is simply not true. We come to retire on Lanzarote not only for that but also for the warm nights, cool concerts, great restaurants and chilled drinks !!
