Flamenco with a twist at Royal Block

WAITSBURG—Flamenco guitarist Gustavo Alonso López will perform at the Royal Block in Waitsburg on Saturday, February 25. López recently moved to Walla Walla from Austin, Texas, and quickly found a home where he could continue his musical journey. He was born and grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho and received degrees in architecture and has worked in Texas and Washington as a registered architect.

Music has been in his life since he was a child. Through his mother’s interests, he had access to recordings and instruments in his childhood home. López began taking his music more seriously when he was nineteen, first playing electric guitar before moving on to the complexity of flamenco.

López continued to study flamenco and fall in love with the history and culture. His knowledge of the art is evident after the first few minutes of meeting him. After working for years in architecture, he has clearly made the decision to follow his passion. He worked on developing his craft with North American musicians from various genres before recording his first album in 2014.

On “Punto Lejano,” he worked with musicians outside of flamenco to create what he described as a conversation between six artists playing 13 different instruments. He successfully combined flamenco’s rhythm and melodic structures with the jazz and world music influences contributed by the collaborating artists.

The improvisations on the first album are long and were influenced by the jazz solos of John Coltrane. López said he wanted music that unfolds gradually, not in a rush to throw in a bunch of fireworks all at once, for his first recording.

In 2017, López was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Spain. While there, he met and worked with accomplished flamenco musicians and dancers. He connected with two Spanish artists he features on his second album to be released later this year.

These musicians have deep roots in flamenco tradition and influenced the new album’s sound. One is a singer, and the other is a unique instrumentalist, Diego Villegas, who plays harmonica, clarinet, flute, and sax.

López said, “Diego is perfect for me because he has that other voice but also understands flamenco structure which has different rules and structure.”

According to López, flamenco has three parts: the ability to accompany singing, accompany dance, and perform solos. He recently performed in Austin, Texas, with the flamenco performer Stephanie Pedraza which illustrates the intricacy of accompanying a vocalist. The performance video is available on López’s website, www. studioespason.com.

As he went from a teenager’s attraction to the electric guitar, he found the speed and aggression in rock and roll were also in flamenco. For López, flamenco offers “a whole other range of emotion and expression.”

“In terms of expressive possibilities within the music, there is nothing I wouldn’t be able to express with this style of music, I can say anything I want through this style. I can study this for the rest of my life and never get bored.”

Royal Block, 222 Main Street.

Saturday, February 25, 2023, at 6 p.m.