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Clazzical Goes Latin
MONDAY, April 4, 2005
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Luis Villegas LATIN JAZZ
GUITARIST
Adam del Monte CLASSICAL & FLAMENCO
GUITARIST
Marcus Gerakos ACOUSTIC GUITARIST
Ray Yslas PERCUSSIONIST/ACCOMPANIST
at Travis Auditorium in the Fuller Seminary School of
Psychology Building
180 North Oakland, Pasadena
ARTIST BIOS
Luis Villegas
LATIN JAZZ GUITARIST
“…a demon of technique…”
 Internationally
renowned guitarist, Luis Villegas -- a first-generation Mexican-American
born in East Los Angeles -- grew up between two musical crosscurrents: the
traditional music he heard at home and the rock and roll of Hollywood's
Sunset Strip.
Luis and his band gained a large following by performing constantly and
consistently in the Los Angeles area for a few years before signing his
first recording contract and releasing his debut CD, Cafe Ole
(Domo), in 1998. It had reviewers grasping for definitions. "Fiery,"
"intense," "potent," and "a demon of technique" were a few of the more
picturesque pronouncements. Cafe Ole won Villegas a spot on the
Grammy ballot for Best New Age Artist of 1999 and gained Luis a cult
following amongst fellow guitarists.
Audiences grew larger still when he made appearances at the nation's
highest profile jazz festivals including the Playboy Jazz Festival,
Catalina JazzTrax Festival, and the Sedona Latin Jazz Festival. During
this time his music was on heavy rotation on smooth jazz radio coast to
coast boosting sales of his two CDs to the highest levels they had ever
been and sealing his reputation as a virtuoso guitarist amongst audiences
and critics alike.
Luis Villegas recent filmography includes performing with the La Rodeo
Band on the soundtrack of the 2004 film Collateral starring Tom
Cruise and Jamie Foxx.
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Adam del Monte
CLASSICAL & FLAMENCO GUITARIST
“He is an innovator…”
–Jaleo magazine
 Adam
del Monte was First Prize Winner at the 1997 Stotsenberg International
Classical Guitar Competition. del Monte studied flamenco & classical
guitar in Spain,Israel& England. He has appeared as both a solo artist and
group performer(with his wife,acclaimed flamenco dancer, Laila del Monte)
in major venues such as LA's Mark Taper Forum and the Wilshire theater;
the Teatro Real and the Conde Duque in Madrid;Manuel de Falla Auditorium
in Granada; New Mexico St Francis Auditorium in Santa Fe; the
International guitar festival in Israel, GFA in St Louis,'96, La Jolla
,'97 and Charleston,99 GFA,Guitar Festival, the 500th anniversary of
Columbus celebrations in Paris & Madrid.Del Monte has also performed with
flamenco singer Enrique Morente and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra ,as well
as with Lole' y Manuel.
He was commissioned by the LA Guitar Quartet to compose a ‘progressive'
flamenco piece entitled ‘Cambio de Aire'. He has collaborated with Yusef
Lateef and the Atlanta Symphony at the National Black Arts Festival in
Atlanta GA. His flamenco debut CD on the Spanish label Sonifolk(1998),
entitled: Viaje a Un Nuevo Mundo (Journey to a New World) was most
favorably reviewed by Spain's most acclaimed flamenco critic Angel Alvarez
Caballero as well as Miguel Mora of El Pais an Alfredo Grimaldos of El
Mundo. His discography includes: A Mel Bay Artist Video Series –a
classical and flamenco recital. A GSP classical CD entitled
EZORDIO
Adam del Monte plays a flamenco and classical guitars by
Francisco Manuel Diaz, Granada,Spain, and guitar by Boaz Elkayam,Israel.
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Marcus Gerakos
ACOUSTIC GUITARIST
 Escenas
is a Latin word meaning "scenes" and it is also the name of the quintet
founded in the summer of 1995 by guitarist Marcus Gerakos and
percussionist Guillermo Yslas. The group has an unique and individualistic
style and sound that they have labeled world acoustic music. January 1997,
Escenas released their critically-acclaimed debut CD With Hands, With
Soul on their own label, Greek Island Records. This first album
brought together a pool of talented musicians with extensive credentials,
including saxophonist Robert Kyle (Kinda Rondstadt, Kenny Loggins, Lou
Rawls); flutist Benn Clatworthy (Horace Silver, Lionel Hampton); trumpeter
John Furno (Brian Setzer Orchestra); and percussionist Ramón Yslas (Dakota
Moon, Strunz and Farah, Shadowfax). The album was heard throughout Europe
on cable radio as well as in Mexico, Central America and South America. In
addition, With Hands, With Soul was featured on local radio
stations KLON 88.1 FM and KTWV 84.7 FM.
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Ray Yslas
PERCUSSIONIST/ACCOMPANIST
 Ray
Yslas is an internationally known percussionist, Yslas a Mexican-American
from Los Angeles, has been keeping pretty busy these past few years...He
was nominated Best Percussionist of the Year, has performed on most Award
shows with many different Artists. He performed on the title song of the
award winning show Sex and the City, and has toured with major
artists in both the American music and Latin music scene.
In January of 2002, he finished a fourteenth month world
tour with the Backstreet Boys and has performed with Patti Labelle. Since
then, he performed on the Tonight show with Anastasia, the Latin Grammy's
with Alejandro Fernandez, recorded on the new Strunz and Farah CD Zona
Torrida, and has recorded in Mexico with Graciela Beltran.
Additionally, he has performed with Patti Austin and Craig Chaquico and
numerous recording sessions. He recorded and toured with Mexican
superstar, Joan Sebastian in Mexico and the U.S. He has also recorded and
toured with Christina Aguilera, Patti La Belle and many, many more.
Mr. Yslas recently joined the staff of Pasadena City
College.
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