Virtuoso Guitarist Michael Laucke "FLAMENCO ROAD" (Enhanced CD)

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Justin Time welcomes the new signing of Michael Laucke, one of Canada’s greatest guitarists, and one who enjoys an international reputation. In fact, he’s had enough career highlights to cover several lifetimes, and his versatile talent has explored and mastered many musical styles, from classical to flamenco, and from Latin to pop and beyond. A few career highlights: he played at The White House (under the auspices of Senator Claiborne Pell) on several occasions; he was chosen from thousands of candidates to perform in a PBS televised master class with his illustrious teacher Andrès Segovia (1982)at New York’s Metropolitan Museum Of Art; and he performed duets with Paco de Lucia (1971-72), who remained a close friend and followed attentively Michael’s artistic impetus all these years. Talking about "Spanish Guitar Stories", Michael’s superb recording from 1993, Paco remarked: "...a very, very beautiful album, all the way through, from A to Z; even my pieces!" Laucke’s past concert appearances include Wigmore Hall (London); New York’s Carnegie Hall; the Caucus Room of the United States Senate; the Minorities Palace (Beijing), the Tzafta Theatre (Tel-Aviv), and many others. Laucke was a disciple of legendary guitarists such as Segovia, de Lucia, Julian Bream, Alirio Diaz and Rolando Valdès-Blain. Diaz, the biggest authority on classical guitar in Italy (President, Conservatorio di Musica Antonio Vivaldi, Rome), once wrote: "I like Laucke's playing because it is full of nuances which come from a very natural musical sensitivity." Flamenco Road, Michael’s first recording for Justin Time, is also the label’s first multimedia release, as it is enhanced with two videos. The virtuosic Laucke enjoys another distinction – 1981’s Jade Eyes was the first digital recording to be released in Canada, to worldwide acclaim. It took more than two hardworking years to complete the Flamenco Road project. The flow and intensity of its ten tracks follows Spanish guitar playing through different genres without ever compromising its luscious expressiveness. From the captivating "Flamenco Road," Michael’s original, to Paco’s prominent "Between Two Seas," to the inspired arrangements of Satie’s "Gymnopedies," this diverse collection is quilted together with sumptuous arrangements and imaginative orchestrations. This enhanced CD includes exciting interactive live concert footage filmed during his tenth consecutive season at Canada’s most prestigious concert venue, Montreal’s Place des Arts. Also included is the beautiful video "Flamenco Road", presently in rotation on several TV networks worldwide. ...FRANÇAIS Justin Time Records accueille dans ses rangs un guitariste dont la réputation n'est plus à faire, le canadien Michael Laucke. Ses nombreux concerts et enregistrements ont été chaleureusement accueillis par la presse internationale. Musicien aux multiples talents, il explore ici un vaste répertoire allant du classique au flamenco, en passant par la musique latine et le pop. Au cours de sa carrière, il s'est produit à plusieurs reprises la Maison Blanche; en 1981, Andrès Segovia le choisit parmi 2000 guitaristes pour interpréter avec lui la musique d'un film tourné au Metropolitan Museum of Art et diffusé au réseau PBS; en 1971 et 1972, il donne plusieurs concerts en duo avec son ami Paco de Lucia. En 1993, lors de la sortie du superbe enregistrement "Spanish Guitar Stories" de Michael Laucke, Paco de Lucia déclare que c'est "un très, très bel album, du début jusqu'à la fin, même mes pièces à moi!" M. Laucke se produit actuellement dans les plus grandes salles du monde, notamment au Wigmore Hall de Londres, au Carnegie Hall de New York, dans la célèbre Caucus Room du Sénat américain à Washington, au Minorities Palace à Pékin, et au Théâtre Tzavta de Tel-Aviv, et de nombreuses autres salles s'ajoutent à la liste. Il a fallu plus de deux ans pour mener à terme le projet "Flamenco Road". L'intensité de ses dix pistes rend toute la fluidité de la guitare espagnole à travers ses nombreux styles, sans pour tout autant compromettre une somptueuse expressivité. Du populaire "Entre deux Océans" de Paco de Lucia, au captivant "Flamenco Road", la pièce originale de Michael Laucke, en passant par ses arrangements des Gymnopédies d'Erik Satie, cette belle collection est parsemée d'arrangements somptueux et d'orchestrations imaginatives. Ce CD multimédia comprend entre-autres le magnifique vidéo "Flamenco Road", ainsi que des images exclusives tournées lors de son dernier concert à la prestigieuse Place des Arts de Montréal.