Artist description Exquisitely tasteful Flamenco guitar tracks;... add bold and powerful Andelusian folk dance chord structures.... include a healthy dose of haunting Gypsy melody... slowly thicken mixture with traditional five finger picking techniques... combine above ingredients with the heat of inspired improvisation... Now blend liberally with polyrhythmic drumming and organic percussive flavors.

Music Style Flamenco

Musical Influences Latin, Jazz, World Beat, Pop, Rock

Similar Artists Jesse Cooke, Otmar Libert

Artist History D'Arez lives and works in the magical Kettle Moraine region in southeastern Wisconsin. He began playing guitar in the musically diverse and explosive 1960’s. D’Arez was influenced by pop, R&B, rock, jazz and classical guitar. He discovered the flamenco guitar while still in his teens and immediately recognized his calling as a musician. Some twenty-five years later. D’Arez continues his romance with the Spanish idiom, composing, performing and perfecting his craft.

Group Members D’Arez: Nylon string guitars, Electric guitar, Solton MS40 Multimedia Music StationDon Roberts: Hand drumsJohn Kruck: Hand drum and Trap setGary Tanin: Additional percussionMike Campbell: Bell tree, Marimba

Instruments Nylon string guitars, Electric guitar, Solton MS40 Multimedia Music Station

Albums D'Arez "Gourmet Guitar" 1999

Press Reviews A ListSHEPHERD EXPRESS - November 25, 1999Volume 20, Issue 48Spotlight: Flamenco GourmetBy DAVE LUHRSSEN Flamenco's long history begins with its "Moorish" or Near Eastern tone, a legacy of the Islamic conquest of Spain during the Middle Ages, and continues through centuries of association with Spanish Gypsies, for whom the music was analogous to American blues. Although flamenco began showing up in concert halls during the 20th century, its roots are in places of entertainment, where melodies are punctuated by the clatter of plates and glasses.So it is that the Milwaukee flamenco guitarist who calls himself D'Arez is upholding tradition by playing weekly at Mukwonago's popular Heaven City restaurant, where he provides the aural dimension to "Tapas Tuesday." But clearly his debut disc, Gourmet Guitar, shares the contemporary sensibility of such '90s popularizers as Otmar Liebert with its easily digested pop melodies spiced with Spanish flair. Gourmet Guitar also harkens back to the "exotica" trend of the 1950s, when martini-smooth lounge music took on the color (and sometimes the essence) of folkloric music from around the world.D'Arez became fascinated with flamenco in 1970 while studying at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, but although he worked many years as a full-time jazz musician and music teacher, it wasn't until "Tapas Tuesday" that he became known for flamenco. "I decided to do original music that I enjoy," he explains. "I'm trained in Eastern music, Arabic and Brazilian music, and all those styles have blended in the last decade into noveau flamenco. I certainly try to keep my own voice as a composer but my music does fall into that category."Gourmet Guitar was recorded live at Heaven City by veteran Milwaukee producer Gary Tanin, and features nine original compositions in the bright, lively nouveau flamenco mode. The focus is always on D'Arez's nimble playing, but he is accompanied by several percussionists who clack-clack quietly, rhythmically. "I try to stay away from flamenco standards. I've always been a composer," D'Arez says. Shout one of those standards out, however, and he will honor the request.D'Arez - Gourmet Guitar D'Arez Records By: Ben Ohmart Oct 2, 2000 Artist: D'Arez (multimus@execpc.com) Title: Gourmet Guitar Label: D'Arez Records I cringe to call this cd a strictly Spanish or strictly Anythinggenre, because as the title suggests, here we have a full meal.Were we to eat the same dish as every entree, the foodwouldn't be near as fresh as we find it now. Right at thismoment, I am engrossed in the Latin jazz night of 'Serenade',spinning flamingo acoustic guitar strings like a spider inheat, or perhaps like one lover to another while the womansleeps. A subliminal Valentine's Day card without the words,nimble creativity helped on by the boy with the rhythm sticksfrom just across the way. Like dessert, so does 'Jazmenco' come at the end of yourevening, a carryover from 'Serenade', helping the digestion asmuch as swirling a red glass of wine before your lips regardits magic. But before the lights soften too much, 'Pepe's Bull'begins our courses, dancing while the meal is waiting to beserved. A smile, a conversation, a rose that falls fromclenched teeth it's all happening here. After over 50 minutes of such byronic delight, I'm ready for afresh spin of the cd, because if there's one thing D'Arez canmaster, it's the Godin Multiac Classical guitar. And when youconsider that these tracks were all taken from liveperformances... waiter!

Location Waukesha, WI - USA

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