Rafael Cortés

I discovered Rafael Cortés today when I was looking at the new releases in world music on iTunes and it was quite a coincidence because I'd just given up trying to find a good spanish guitarist (with YouTube clips) who I could do a post on. I usually dislike flamenco music because I find that the music is too fast-paced but Rafael Cortés plays the guitar more slowly so that it's better to listen to.

He combines his modern style with classic flamenco and jazz and he likes to embody his emotions and feelings in his music. His style has been influenced by Paco de Lucia, who is one of the best guitarists in the world and who is often reckoned to be the best guitarist out of those, who play flamenco music, so this might very well be the reason why he is one of the most highly regarded flamenco artists today. He began is career at a very young age, when he debuted (at four years old) with his father accompanying him. I suppose this would explain why his guitar teacher decided that he could teach him nothing else by the time he was 14 years old!

If you'd like to listen to more samples of his music, here are the link to his mp3 albums on Amazon: Eclipse de Luna, Parando el Tiempo, Campo libre and Gitanos del agua.