Great talent cannot be contained. So it is with OSCAR LOPEZ -- he is nonstop, relentless, impossible to ignore or resist. "What I am giving you is how I feel about the music," he says. "I know a lot of people use the word, but passion is what I feel when I play. I am completely devoted to my guitar -- she has been my lady for a long time."
Hailed by the Associated Press as a “major talent”, this high-energy Chilean-Canadian guitarist has been amazing listeners and critics at concerts and festivals across North America. The way Oscar’s fingers “fly along his guitar” leaves his audience breathless; his improvisations and uncanny ability to play any category of music after hearing a tune only once, leave his fellow musicians shaking their heads in awe.
Born in Chile, Oscar had an established musical career there before he immigrated to Canada in 1979. "When I came here I played in many bands, in many styles. I returned to playing the nylon string guitar, and I brought all these styles to it. I would bend a note and think, 'Hey! That works here, too.' This was the start of my fusion, if you want to call it that."
Indeed, what to call the music? The artist is reluctant to name it. "It's not flamenco, but it is in a way. It's not rock or blues, except in certain elements. There is always a strong Latin beat, a Spanish beat. Latin, definitely, because that's me, but there is so much other music that has touched me." At the heart of Oscar’s performance is his unique musical style, a “fantasy of Latin strings” -- a vibrant fusion of Latin, jazz, and classical rhythms.
One thing is certain and undebatable: this is an amazing guitarist. Fellow musician Martin Simpson once said, "Oscar Lopez is the only guitarist I know who can actually make an acoustic nylon string guitar scream." Lopez concerts are startlingly powerful. "I play with fire and speed, and movement. I make my guitar speak back to me," he says.
He has performed with Ali Farka Toure, David Lindley & Hani Nassir, Sierra Maestra, Don Ross, Martin Simpson, with his compadre James Keelaghan, and was a member of the supergroup The Cold Club.
In 1997 Oscar signed a multi-disc international recording deal with Narada Media; his first release "Heat" will be released on May 20. "Heat" is a collection of 15 new, original Lopez instrumentals with an exuberant rumba flamenco flavour. His tribute to his guitar hero Paco de Lucia, "Lucia," is the lead track on the Narada compilation "Gypsy Passion", alongside other great guitarists including Ottmar Liebert and Strunz & Farrah.
In 1989 Oscar released a cassette of mostly original material, Hola. Oscar was honored by the Alberta Recording Industries Association with a 1994 nomination for Best Roots/Traditional/ Ethnic Artist on Record for his second recording, Sueños. His third release, Dancing on the Moon (1994), earned international attention and a 1995 Juno Award nomination for Best Album of the Year in the Global category, as well as Lopez' second ARIA nom
For Oscar's Tour Schedule, click on: Oscar Lopez Itinerary
For Bookings, Contact:
Paquin Entertainment Agency
1067 Sherwin Road
Winnipeg, MB
Canada R3H 0T8Telephone: (204) 697-0650
Fax: (204) 697-0903
E-mail:Management:
Susan Martinez
Martinez Management & Media
P.O. Box 14901, University Station,
Minneapolis, MN. 55414
U.S.A.Telephone: (612) 331-9441
Fax: (612) 331-6494
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