CIRO HURTADO IS ONE OF THE LEADING ACOUSTIC GUITARISTS IN NEW AGE & WORLD FUSION

Ciro Hurtado plays acoustic guitar with a unique Latin style that combines what he calls “Andean Blues” (from his Peruvian birthplace) with elements of American jazz and rock’n’roll plus a variety of other international influences.  Proof of his innovative guitar technique is available on his new solo-guitar album, Los Angeles Blues.

 

Hurtado was born and raised in Peru, but immigrated to the United States when he was 20.  Since then he has released seven albums under his own name and seven with the band Huayucaltia.  He also has played and recorded with the renowned guitar ensemble Strunz and Farah.  Hurtado has spent the past several decades developing his own guitar style that incorporates Peruvian folk music motifs that originated in the Andes Mountains and that he grew up listening to and performing as a teenager.

 

Hurtado’s last album, Guitarrista, also was a solo acoustic guitar recording.  It went to #2 on the international Zone Music Reporter Top 100 album airplay chart, stayed on the chart for six months, and was named one of the Top 5 best world music albums of the year by the radio programmers reporting to ZMR.

 

Los Angeles Blues and Guitarrista and some of Hurtado’s other music are available for purchase online at CDbaby, Amazon, iTunes and a variety of other sites that sell CDs or digital downloads.  More information is available at cirohurtado.com.

 

Hurtado’s childhood was split between living in a small town on the family’s plantation in the Amazonia rain-forest and going to school in the large city of Lima.  The plantation was so remote it was primarily accessible by small planes, and initially had no electricity or running water.  When electricity was finally available for two hours a day, Ciro listened to music on the shortwave radio that picked up music from Brazil and Cuba as well as Russian broadcasts which expanded his awareness of many musical styles.  “I had heard Andean folk music all my life, and members of my family played it on guitar, but as a child, the first time I heard The Beatles on the radio, I also became mesmerized by rock’n’roll.”

 

Ciro began playing guitar at age nine, and started studying it seriously when he was 13.  He played acoustic guitar in traditional folk ensembles and electric guitar in rock groups.  After moving to the United States, he studied at the prestigious Guitar Institute of Technology.   Hurtado appeared on the Strunz and Farah Misterio album and toured for four years with this popular group including concerts at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Havana Classical Guitar Festival in Cuba, and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, plus a return to his native country for a tour throughout Peru.

 

Hurtado’s own previous albums are In My Mind, Tales From Home, The Magic Hour, Guitarra, Echoes of the Andes and Guitarrista.  The first five recordings mostly featured ensemble music with a few solo guitar tracks.  After the release of Guitarrista, he toured extensively by himself with a show called “One Guitar, Many Stories” that paired his compositions with stories to illustrate the cultural and social contexts behind the music.  Hurtado also is a founding member and currently the musical director of Huayucaltia (pronounced why-you-call-TEE-ah) that has group members from Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and the United States (“In this group I have gotten the chance to explore virtually every kind of Latin rhythm.”).  He has appeared on and co-produced their albums -- Despertar, Caminos, Horizontes, Amazonas, Origenes, Destinos and El Tiempo.  During the past decade the group performed “Misa Criolla” by Argentine composer Ariel Ramirez at the Hollywood Bowl to critical acclaim, and performed three times with the Los Angeles Master Chorale at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  The last performance was a piece specifically written for the band and chorale by renowned composer Gabriela Lena Frank.

 

Hurtado was awarded the prestigious Durfee Master Musician Fellowship.  “The highlight of that experience was playing with and collaborating with musicians from Africa, Japan, Iran, Ireland and Vietnam.  I felt like we were creating universal music.”  In addition, Hurtado has produced and recorded albums for Michele Greene, Conjunto Jardin, Rosalia Leon and numerous others.  As a composer, Hurtado has scored and participated musically in various feature films and documentaries such as Ron Fricke’s classic film “Baraka,” “Dead Women in Lingerie,” “Max is Missing,” “Hope Street,” “Monsters,” “Peru: The Royal Tour” and “From Wharf Rats to Lord of the Docks.”

 

Hurtado has studied a wide range of Latin music plus rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical, flamenco, Celtic, African and Middle-Eastern music and numerous other styles.  In the ‘70s and ‘80s he listened to everything from The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac to John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra and Pat Metheny.  Paco de Lucia inspired Hurtado to study Spanish music and flamenco.  He also enjoys Afro-Peruvian music, which became well-known in the world music circle after the release of the album The Soul of Black Peru (produced by David Byrne in the Nineties), “because I heard that music played in the streets in Peru when I was young.”  Hurtado has listened to acoustic guitarists such as Pierre Bensusan, Tommy Emmanuel, Laurence Juber, Michael Hedges and Andrew York.  “They don’t influence me because I have a different style, but they certainly inspire me and give me confidence to try new things.”

 

Hurtado plays finger-style guitar on his solo guitar recordings.  When he is performing with an ensemble at a concert he also uses a flat-pick.

 

“Playing solo guitar, especially in concert, is very demanding, but also very rewarding.  It takes courage because it is just me and my guitar.  It is a very immediate and intimate way of connecting with the audience,” explains Hurtado.

 

“On the album Los Angeles Blues I am exploring my roots, both the early influences from Peru and also the cultural diversity I encountered when I moved to Los Angeles,” Hurtado explains.  “On this album I truly feel I have found my own voice as a solo player and I am more at ease playing solo than ever before.  I have worked hard for many years to combine all my influences and make my own style so that I don’t sound exactly like anyone else.”

 

Seeds for the music on the new album were planted throughout Ciro’s life.  As a child he heard the song “La Campanera” by the young Spanish singer Joselito which inspired Hurtado to compose a completely different tune with that title.  When he was in high school he traveled to the city of Cuzco in Peru for adventure and as a “rite of passage,” and this long-ago trip inspired the tune “Camino a Cuzco.”  “Tahuampita” is his tribute to the informal weekend dance parties held by Peruvian jungle plantation workers that he observed as a child.  Several tunes stretch back two decades to ensemble versions on earlier albums, but re-recorded here as solo guitar tunes -- “Aguas” and “La Negrita Tomasa” along with a tune written at that time, “Reflection.”  Other compositions on the recording reflect recent feelings.  The title track is called “Los Angeles Blues” because, Hurtado says, “living in such a huge city can get you down because you can see a lot of society’s problems exemplified here, and on the professional level there is a lot of competition and talent.  But the other side of that is the new piece I wrote, ‘Spring in the Hills,’ which is a joyful, positive, uplifting tune about enjoying the flowers and animals found in the foothills around Los Angeles.”  Argentinian Julio Ledezma plays a subtle bombo drum on the title track and the cajon on “La Negrita Tomasa.”  As Hurtado explains in the album’s liner notes, he incorporates many Latin music styles including yaravi/triste, zapateado, festejo, bordoneo, bailecito and chacarera.

 

“Even though this album pulls together inspirational ideas and musical motifs from throughout my life, the music represents where I am today,” states Hurtado.  “Los Angeles Blues is a reflection of the many people, cultures and musical styles that have touched my life, but in the end it is just me with my guitar.”

LAURA MCMILLAN UNIQUE NEW SOLO PIANO TALENT

Laura McMillan titled her second album of original solo piano music Linger Longer because she treasures the positive moments of life and wants to hold onto them as long as possible.

 

“Say I am having a wonderful afternoon in a gorgeous outside setting, especially with someone I love, and I am enjoying looking at the lush, green scenery and flowers, trees, the ocean, blue skies and white clouds, and I feel a breeze caress my skin.  Those are the golden moments in our lives that you wistfully wish could last longer.  Even when I was a child, I was the one who didn’t want the merry-go-round to stop,” explains McMillan.

 

“Whether I am performing a concert for an appreciative audience, assisting one of my music students reach a new level, or simply watching a beautiful sunset, of course the moment passes.  But my message is to wring as much pleasure as you possibly can from those special times, to make the most of them, and not just let them fly by without the realization that those scenes from our lives become our most sacred treasures.”

 

More information about Laura McMillan can be found at her website (perhapspiano.com).  The music on her albums (Linger Longer and Without Words) can be purchased in the CD format or as digital downloads at various online sales outlets such as CDbaby, Amazon, iTunes and other sites.

 

McMillan, who has been playing and teaching classical music all her life, blends both traditional classical piano elements and a strong appreciation of Broadway music with modern new age and neo-classical motifs to create her own sound.  She often employs tempo changes within a composition which builds excitement and makes the listener wonder what direction she will head next.  At times McMillan balances heavy chording with delicate runs, keeping both hands active, developing a variety of moods and passionate feelings with the music.

 

McMillan’s greatest musical influence has always been Frederic Chopin, and she practiced his piano pieces for endless hours when she was growing up.  Her studies also led her to deeply appreciate Mozart and Beethoven.  As a youngster, Laura remembers her older brother introducing her to the popular music of Bruce Springsteen and Boston, which opened her ears to other musical styles.  Her mother often took her to both symphony orchestra concerts and Broadway musicals.  At age ten, Laura was captivated by new age pioneer George Winston’s Autumn album and particularly the tune “Colors/Dance” which “I listened to over and over until I learned to play it.”  When Laura was a teenager she saw piano virtuoso Van Cliburn in concert “which motivated me and made me realize the piano was an instrument you could work at your entire lifetime.”  Later she came to enjoy David Lanz’s music, especially his compositions “Beloved,” “Dreamer’s Waltz” and “Prelude to the Dance,” and she often recommends these pieces to her students.

 

On her recording Linger Longer, McMillan presents a dozen new original compositions performed as solo piano pieces.  The music represents McMillan’s thoughts and feelings about the world around her -- from remembering the innocence of childhood to losing someone you love, from cherishing special memories to praying for a better understanding of our world.

 

“I think of each of my compositions as a different scene that takes the listener to that place like they are watching a film or flipping the pages of a photo album,” she says.

 

The title track of Linger Longer was created in remembrance of McMillan’s mother, but two other tunes carry those feelings onward -- “With All My Heart” is about “appreciating all the beautiful moments of life in which I wouldn’t change a thing,” and “Letting Go” is McMillan “reflecting on how everything in life is transient so, by necessity, we must learn to move forward.”

 

“December 12th” is about “the love shared between friends even though life sometimes gets in the way.”  “Without You” musically explores “a broken heart, silent teardrops and the sadness we keep deep inside ourselves.”  The tune “Empty” reflects “how empty my life would be if I didn’t have composing and playing the piano as outlets for my emotions.”

 

“Wings” was written for a friend who suffered a severe brain injury.  “‘Dear Heaven’ is my personal prayer in musical form.”  Regarding “July Lullaby” McMillan says, “I wanted to create a restful, peaceful melody.  This one also is dedicated to my mom.”   Two tunes capture feelings of childhood -- “The Window” is “seeing the world with child-like eyes, looking outside with a sense of wonder,” and “Twirling” is “that wonderful children’s experience of spinning around and around with your arms out until you get so dizzy you fall down.”  The album ends with “Raspberry Rain” which McMillan says “is a tribute to two of my favorite things, eating raspberries and feeling a gentle rain on my face.  The only reason they go together in my mind is that they both make me happy, and I was happy when I was writing this piece.”

 

According to McMillan, “One thing I learned over the years is that the piano could become my private refuge from the struggles and stresses of the day.”

 

When Laura was three-years-old she surprised her mother by climbing up on the piano bench and finding the rights notes to tunes from a Mitch Miller Christmas album the child had been listening to.  Laura, who grew up near Portland, Oregon, began formal lessons at age seven under the tutelage of Marylhurst University piano teacher Sister Emerentia Berndorfner.  When McMillan was 15, she opened her own piano studio, Perhaps Piano, and began teaching students herself.  She was invited to attend the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana where she studied for four years with a leading authority on Beethoven, Dr. Kenneth Drake.  At Portland State University she continued her studies with Dr. Harold Gray and graduated with professional degrees in piano performance, musical composition and pedagogy.

 

Since then McMillan has performed professionally while also developing a reputation as one of the Portland-area’s top piano teachers (she also now teaches internationally via the Internet and Skype).  Fourteen of her students have received full-ride college scholarships to music schools.  She has won a Music Teacher’s Association competition and received superior ratings from the National Federation of Music.  She has received more than 111,000 views on the YouTube Channel (lauramcmillanpiano).

 

McMillan’s Linger Longer CD is dedicated to her mother.  The two of them took numerous trips to the East Coast to visit Cape Cod where they spent hours swimming in the bay, walking along the beach and picking up seashells.  They stayed in an old sea captain’s house that is called “Linger Longer By The Sea.”  The house has a view of the ocean and the sunset photo on the cover of the album was taken from that spot.

LUNA BLANCA NOW ONE OF THE LEADING FORCES IN THE FIELD OF NOUVEAU-FLAMENCO MUSIC

El Dorado has traditionally been the name of the fabled Lost City of Gold in South America and a phrase that has come to mean any ultimate prize. Now El Dorado is also the title and inspiration for the fifth album by the German act Luna Blanca, which has risen to become one of the most popular nouveau-flamenco groups in the world.




According to Luna Blanca leader Richard Hecks, listening to El Dorado is “a musical adventure that simulates a journey and search through South America looking for riches, but encountering both bandits and the good native people, music, rivers to cross, and the beauty of a new land including warm breezes and sunsets. El Dorado also is a symbol of everyone’s search in life for love, wealth, accomplishment and happiness.”



Luna Blanca’s first four CDs -- New Flamenco Odyssee, Magic, Guitar Island and the international Top 10 Provence, plus their concert DVD Guitar Island Live -- established the group internationally as a top modern flamenco ensemble combining melodic and emotional acoustic lead-guitar performance with rhythm guitars, piano, keyboards, percussion and other instruments. Luna Blanca has become known for their catchy and instantly-appealing melodies plus a Latin-oriented ensemble sound that makes the listener feel they are traveling to a warm climate to enjoy good times. The music of Luna Blanca can be purchased at their website lunablancamusic.com, at online webstores such as Amazon or CDbaby, and at many digital download locations such as iTunes.



Luna Blanca, based in Bocholt, Germany, was founded at the beginning of the millennium by acoustic lead guitarist Richard Hecks. The other mainstay of the group is pianist Helmut Graebe, who joined the group just before they recorded the first album, and now co-writes the music with Hecks. Both on record and in concert they add other musicians as needed to create their sound with drums, percussion, bass, one or more acoustic rhythm guitars, organ, occasional vocalizing, etc. On the last three albums, Hecks and Graebe have been joined by rhythm guitarist Bino Dola (a flamenco player much respected throughout Europe) and Clemens Paskert (who adds bass, percussion and additional keyboards). Paskert, who runs Capitol Sound Studios where the CD was recorded, also serves as arranger and co-producer with Hecks. On El Dorado more keyboards were added by Christian Landgraf.



On each album Luna Blanca has continued to get better and better, has become more popular, and has stretched themselves further musically. For example, on El Dorado there are some noteworthy new additions to their sound -- electric guitar and sound effects on “Desperado,” and blues harp on “Medianoche” and “Rio Mamoré,” as well as some instrumentation they occasionally use such as trumpets (on “Los Ojos” and “Kolibri”) and piano with string orchestration (on “Puesta del Sol”). Hecks explains, “The CD starts with ‘Los Ojos,’ the eyes, looking off into the distance where the explorers are headed, and the tune includes Clemens laughing with joy at the exciting and dangerous trip to follow. Some of that danger appears in the tune about a ‘Desperado’ who is eventually shot down with the sounds of a horse whinnying and bells tolling.” The people of South America love to dance and Luna Blanca likes to include a rumba tune on their recent recordings which led to the upbeat and highly-melodic “Guapa.”



The legend of El Dorado first came to the attention of the early Spanish conquistadors who began searching for the site in the mid-1500s with their quest continuing for hundreds of years. El Dorado was supposed to be a religious place for the indigenous tribes where gold and jewels were used in ceremonies to crown their new rulers. The fable lives on and has been used in many artistic endeavors in the past hundred years including books and films.



Hecks was a classical guitarist until he heard Ottmar Liebert (a fellow German who moved to the United States) on the radio. “That was the sound I had been searching for,” Hecks says. “It was the alchemy of uniting beautiful melodies with the intensity of flamenco. The romantic and melodious aspect that Ottmar introduced aroused my enthusiasm.”



On their debut album, Luna Blanca did versions of Liebert tunes, a classical piece by Chopin and “Johnny Guitar” by Victor Young from the 1954 film of the same name. On the second CD, Magic, Hecks and Graebe began writing original material, and found that their title tune and “Destiny” were well received. They also did their own distinctive new flamenco arrangements of classic rock tunes by The Beatles, Procol Harum and Santana. For Guitar Island, Hecks and Graebe composed all of the pieces except for “Robinson Crusoe,” the original theme from the 1964 German-French TV series. On Provence and El Dorado Hecks and Graebe penned all original material (with Paskert helping out on “Desperado” and Dola contributing “Conquistador”).



In addition to garnering airplay around the world with their music, Luna Blanca has had many memorable moments. They have performed at major concert events -- “La Guitarra” and “Noche de Guitarra” -- with international-favorite Peter Finger joining Richard Hecks and Bino Dola as the third guitarist. On their Guitar Island album, Hecks and Graebe brought in award-winning percussionist Sascha Pöpping. From that CD, the tune “Pastis” went to No. 3 on the Australian Indie Radio Chart, “Island Reggae” appeared on a Global Rhythm compilation CD, “Villa Azur” was heard on a New Age and New Sounds compilation recording, and “Rising Sun” was chosen to be on two compilation albums -- Café World Lounge and Goa Chillout Zone. On Provence the group had internationally-acclaimed keyboardist Uwe Gronau guest on two tracks. Provence went to #7 on the international Top 100 Zone Music Reporter radio airplay chart (and was named one of the Top 5 albums of the year in two award categories -- Best Acoustic Instrumental Album and Best World Album). The song “Gipsy” hit No. 1 on the Australian Easy Listening Radio Chart. The new tune “Desperado” has been selected to appear on a WOA Independent #1’s compilation.



Richard Hecks began playing guitar at age 12, initially inspired by Trini Lopez in the movie “The Poppy is Also a Flower.” Richard soon got hooked on the electric-guitar rock’n’roll sounds of groups such as The Shadows and The Spotnicks, and he played in the band The Condors. “Helmut is an old and dear friend of mine. We have known each other since our time at university when we played together for pure fun, mostly doing all The Beatles’ songs.” Eventually Richard became passionate about classical guitar and artists such as Andrés Segovia, and in 1995 Hecks hired a well-known guitar-maker, Hermann Hauser, to craft a custom acoustic. “I explicitly asked him to produce a guitar which would produce a soft sound which is why he made the top out of cedar.” In 1999 Hecks performed classical guitar music in concert with another guitarist and was pleased by the crowd’s enthusiastic response. After hearing the modern nouveau-flamenco sound, Hecks began performing in that style. “I have always loved discovering new musical directions and techniques. During my entire musical career, it has always been my intention to play emotional music capable of reaching the hearts of those who listen.”



Helmut Graebe began playing bass when he was 13 and remembers playing percussion on tin cans while listening to BBC Radio. Later he discovered one of his relatives had a piano and he taught himself to play that instrument. He also enjoys performing on a Hammond B-3 organ when he gets the chance. As a friend of Hecks, Graebe was asked to help produce the first Luna Blanca CD, but when he played a piano solo “just for fun” on the tune “August Moon,” he and Richard felt, “The new sound of Luna Blanca was born.” When Richard came up with the idea of projecting photos and original artwork on a screen behind the group during concerts, Helmut contributed paintings to use.



“In my early years as a musician, I never imagined I would turn my attention to flamenco melodies,” states Hecks. “But once I heard this style of music, I fell in love with the emotionalism and intensity. I also am excited about how this new flamenco sound deeply touches listeners from all age groups, all different ethnic backgrounds and all countries around the world. It is a universal musical language that can be appreciated by anyone.”