胡安‧卡爾莫納 l 吉他

「我來自一個與時空隔絕、毫不起眼的地方…..」

卡爾莫納，1963年出生於法國里昂，與西班牙格拉納達吉他世家阿比垂拉斯家族(the Habichuelas dynasty of Granada)有著遠親關係。卡爾莫納十歲時，父親送給他第一把吉他；沒有多久，他的彈奏技巧就已達到爐火純青，大家都相信卡爾莫納遲早會在國際樂壇上一飛沖天。卡爾莫納對於西班牙老家赫雷斯(安達魯西亞自治區)--佛朗明哥舞的發源地--有著深厚的歸屬感，覺得非得落葉歸根才能傳承佛朗明哥的香火。他待在赫雷斯八年多，與偉大的佛朗明哥歌手Agujetas, Duquende, Terremoto Hijo, Capuyo de Jerez, Rubichi, Antonio y Manuel Malenas, Jesus Monje (「島上的蝦子」嘎馬龍的兄弟), Jose Mendez…及著名舞者Joaquin Grilo, María del Mar Moreno, Ana Parilla, Angelita y Joselito Vargas, Joselito Fernández等平起平坐，搭檔演出，卡爾莫納儼然成為佛朗明哥的代表人物之一。

1988年，卡爾莫納贏得赫雷斯國際大賽首獎，同時入圍西班牙科多巴吉他大賽準決賽。1989年，從吉他名師桑盧卡(Manolo Sanlucar)手中取得赫雷斯佛朗明哥基金會頒發的演奏文憑。1990年，獲得法國政府藝術村補助金(Villa Médicis Hors Les Murs)及「安東尼奧․恰空」佛朗明哥貢獻獎。1992年，獲得拉瓦節獎。1994年，卡爾莫納終於一償宿願，摘下吉他界最高榮譽-馬德里「帕可․迪魯奇亞」吉他大賽首獎。

這位誕生於法國的吉普賽吉他好手，除了有大獎得主的光環、著名吉他世家的淵源，更對安達魯西亞地區的佛朗明哥表演藝術不遺餘力。在他駐足西班牙期間，錄製了〈Borboreo〉專輯(由吉他名師穆尼奧茲監製)，獻給赫雷斯市。

1996年，卡爾莫納返回法國，立刻面對應接不暇的演出，錄製了許多專輯。他接受各種形態的演出方式，與爵士歌手Mino Cinelu, Al Di Meola, Biréli Lagrène, Larry Coryell, Babik Rheinhart, Philip Catherin, Sylvain Luc、印度古典音樂家Subramanian及烏茲別克歌手Matlubeth等人先後合作。也為多部電影擔任配樂，如美麗的故事(1992)、廚房浮世繪(1993)、流沙(1996)等。1998年，曼紐因爵士為卡爾莫納錄製一集電視專訪，以表彰他在吉他演奏的傑出成就。

卡爾莫納自組的樂團-「胡安․卡爾莫納樂團」，在全球各地巡演；除了法國本土，還造訪過美國、德國、義大利、英國、摩洛哥、蘇俄、荷蘭、匈牙利等地。國際重要爵士音樂節如蒙特婁爵士音樂節(2007)、維也納爵士音樂節(2007)也邀請他們演出。卡爾莫納創作的佛朗明哥交響曲--為佛朗明哥吉他和交響樂團所作，被俄羅斯愛樂、美國聖路易交響、挪威廣播管弦、里昂國立管弦等樂團選為音樂會曲目。

佛朗明哥重量級大老皆推崇卡爾莫納的演奏功力已達到「神魔」(the duende)之境。他的演奏風格兼具現代與傳統，出過的三張專輯〈Orillas〉(2003)、〈佛朗明哥交響曲〉(2006)、〈El Sentido del Aire〉(2010)，都獲得拉丁葛萊美獎年度最佳佛朗明哥專輯提名。最新專輯〈Alchemya〉(2013)呈現出一幅卡爾莫納音樂自畫像，極具個人創意。卡爾莫納的演奏總是出人意表又撩人心弦，時而傳統保守，時而崩解現代，各種流派水乳交融，證明他的獨樹一格始終走在這一世代的最前端。

Juan Carmona l Guitar

I come from no particular area, no particular place,
Disconnected from time and space…

His name is Carmona, like his distant cousins of the Habichuelas dynasty of Granada, all guitarists.  In 1963, one year after the exile, he was born in Lyons, France.

Juan Carmona was barely 10 when his father gave him his first guitar. His virtuosity became quickly apparent to professional musicians and it was only a matter of time before he began reaching international acclaim.

Juan Carmona soon felt the urge to return to the land of his ancestors, to go back to his roots and get filled with family source – Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia – with the personal challenge of obtaining recognition of the originality of his art in the town considered as the cradle of flamenco.  And he won his bet: for more than eight years he rubbed elbows with the greatest names in flamenco: singersAgujetas, Duquende, Terremoto Hijo, Capuyo de Jerez, Rubichi, Antonio y Manuel Malenas, Jesus Monje (Camaron de la Isla’s brother), Jose Mendez…  ; dancers Joaquin Grilo, María del Mar Moreno, Ana Parilla, Angelita y Joselito Vargas, Joselito Fernández. He also recorded withChano Dominguez, Rubem Dantas, Manolito Soler, Tino di Geraldo, etc.

Soon, Carmona emerged as a prominent figure in flamenco. In 1988, he awarded first prize in theJerez de la Frontera International Competition, and was one of the finalists in the Union and Córdoba Guitar Competition. In 1989, he obtained a diploma from the Jerez Flamenco Foundation, awarded by the guitarist Manolo Sanlucar. In 1990, he won the Villa Médicis Hors Les Murs Award, the Don Antonio Chacon Trophy, awarded for his “peña flamenca”, and in 1992 theLavoisier Award. In 1994, he finally achieved the ultimate laureate : First prize in the Madrid Paco de Lucia Competition.

Besides his many concert achievements, awards and relationships in the guitar world, this French-born gipsy added further distinction to his career: gathering a permanent triumph in Spain, particularly in Andalusia where he created upheaval in the flamenco world.  His stay in Spain gave birth to his recording “Borboreo”, tribute to the city of Jerez, under the artistic direction of Isidro Muñoz.

Since his return to France in 1996, Juan Carmona experienced an endless series of concert engagements and did numerous recordings. After working with a fabulous band of musicians representing a wide range of musical genres such as Mino Cinelu, Al Di Meola, Biréli Lagrène, Larry Coryell, Babik Rheinhart, Philip Catherin,   Sylvain Luc, to name just a few in the area of jazz ; Subramanian in Indian music ; singer Matlubeth (Uzbekistan) ; and participating to numerous film soundtracks, (La belle Histoire, Cuisines et Dépendances, Sables Mouvants).

A programme was dedicated to him in Arte en October 1998, presented by the big master Lord Yehudi Menuhin for who Juan Carmona is an exceptional guitarist.

Juan Carmona set up his own group: the Juan Carmona Grupo, staging shows throughout France and abroad, forging himself an international musical career: USA, Germany, Italy, England, Morocco, Russia, Holland, Hungary… in addition to performances in major music festivals such as the Montreal Jazz Festival (07) and the Festival Jazz à Vienne (07) or the Montreal Jazz Festival.

His creation “Sinfonía Flamenca” (creation for flamenco guitar and classical orchestra) is now interpreted all around the world: the Russian Philarmony, the St-Louis Symphonic Orchestra (United States), The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Lyon National Orchestra….

Elected by the highest flamenco’s figures, Juan Carmona roams across aerial ways of the duende. His guitar provides continuity between musical “modernity” and one of the oldest living flamenca’s traditions of Andalusia. On tour around the world (The United States, China, Canada…) his three last albums, Orillas, Sinfonía Flamenca and El Sentido del Aire were nominated to the Latin Grammy Awards category “Best Album Flamenco of the year” in 2003, 2006 and 2010.

His new album “Alchemya” (2013) is a real musical self-portrait.

Juan Carmona has undeniably proven being one of the most creative. His playing is surprising and always moving. Somewhere between profound awareness of musical genres, traditional styles and a devastating modernity, Juan Carmona stands as an innovator of his generation.

Awards

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