The World's Music at Oxford - The Chico Pérez Flamenco Band
Date and time
Description
Chico Pérez is a pianist and composer from Andalusia, Southern Spain. Born into a family of musicians, he quickly developed a passion for music that saw him performing in public from the age of 6. He has complemented his classical training at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Jaén through projects with renowned jazz and flamenco performers such as Jorge Pardo, David Peña Dorantes, and Israel Sandoval.
Since graduating in 2016, he has won various awards, including the 2019 AIEnRUTa-Flamencos prize, and first place in the 2018 COMPOSERS, Creative Music Contest. He is one of the main pianists in the Madrid production of The Lion King and has toured extensively as a solo performer and with several bands, including at the most prestigious flamenco festivals in Spain. In 2018, he was also selected to participate in the Música en Vena Project, bringing music to hospitals across Spain.
Chico Pérez will appear in Oxford playing tunes from his latest album, Gruserías, which sees him weave elements of jazz, blues, and classical music into his Spanish flamenco. Gruserías was recorded at the prestigious Madrid-based Musigrama studio, where flamenco stars such as El Cigala, Niña Pastori, and Paco de Lucía have recorded in the past. He appears alongside Belén Vega (‘cante’ or singing), David Romero (double bass), and Alberto Garrido (percussion), with whom he won the Best Band Award from the Spanish National Radio and Television (RTVE).