Fri 21 July
Hall One, Kings Place, London

‘He is an authentic ambassador for flamenco music throughout the whole world’,
Author and flamencologist. José Manuel Gamboa

Juan Martín produces sounds that are both melodic and explosive, the visceral power of authentic Flamenco. You’ll be transported to the Classic Spain of Seville, Jerez, Cádiz, Granada and Málaga on a journey through the diverse cultures of Andalucia. Juan Incorporates a myriad of influences in his music ranging from the gypsy culture of Rajesthan in Northern India to the Byzantine chants and the Hebraic and Moorish laments that entered Andalucia. The sounds of Argentina and Cuba are also evident in the rumba, guajiras and milonga that Juan plays.
Juan Martín absorbed his art from a young age in Málaga and has felt that his destiny was to take this art to the world. He has played in over 40 countries, recorded 20 albums mostly as a composer and has played with the Royal Philharmonic and greats like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. Juan has twice been voted one of the world’s top three exponents by US magazine Guitar Player and extraordinarily, performed for Picasso on his 90th birthday.

Sat 22 July
Hall One, Kings Place, London

“One of the most remarkable guitar players on the planet.”
London Jazz News

Biréli Lagrène is a French guitarist of worldwide fame and considered a major player of Gypsy Jazz. He also has drawn much praise for his fertile blend of swinging continental jazz, post-bop, fusion and rock.

Once regarded as a child prodigy, he has collaborated with such legendary players as Stéphan Grappelli, Ginger Baker, Al di Meola, Paco de Lucía, John McLaughlin and countless others. Given that roster of top collaborators one might mistakenly assume that Lagrène is quite advanced in years, but this is not the case; the fact is, he was drawn to the guitar as a child of four, and after auditioning at the intermission, was invited onstage with Grapelli for the second half- when he was only ten years old. When his “Routes to Django: Live” was issued in 1980, the 13-year-old jazz guitarist was immediately praised by critics as a protégé of Django Reinhardt. He had already won a prize in a festival at Strasbourg in 1978, and his appearance at a Gypsy festival was broadcast on television. He soon broadened his approach, exploring a wide variety of jazz from Wes Montgomery to Jimi Hendrix and got recording with some of modern jazz’s biggest names.

Renowned for his virtuosic performances and jazz improvisational skills, Biréli has produced numerous albums and toured the world, collaborating with exceptional musicians such as Jaco Pastorius, Jean Luc Ponty, Lenny White, Victor Bailey, Philip Catherine, Didier Lockwood, Larry Coryell and many others. He even replaced Eric Clapton during the temporary reformation of the legendary band Cream. Throughout the years, he has never ceased to impress the world with his unequalled virtuosity and astonishing rhythmic accuracy.

This is Biréli’s only performance in the UK, a unique opportunity you cannot miss!

Sun 23 July – 7.30pm
Hall Two, Kings Place, London

“Martin Simpson has transcended borders and oceans to quietly become a superb storyteller and musician of great depth and unquestionable taste.”
Stephen Fearing

The remarkable intimate solo performances Martin gives go from strength to strength – every gig is a masterclass. He travels the length and breadth of the UK and beyond, giving rapt audiences passion, sorrow, love, beauty, tragedy and majesty through his playing.

“What’s it like being the best guitar player in the world…?” Martin’s modesty and grace prevented him from answering this BBC Radio 4 interviewer’s question recently, but the facts speak for themselves:
40 years after he recorded his first album, Golden Vanity, in 1976, Martin is known as a guitarist of formidable talent. Equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues and his own compositions, he is consistently named as one of the very finest fingerstyle guitar players in the world.
Universally acclaimed as one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players, and a fine banjo-picker to boot, his solo shows bear witness to an artist at the very top of his game. Whether interpreting material from tradition or singing his own potent self-penned songs, Simpson is a remarkable storyteller: captivating and profoundly moving. His own songwriting produced the poignant ‘Never Any Good’, from Prodigal Son, 2007’s Folk Album of the Year.

Martin continues to collaborate with a dazzling array of people from across the musical spectrum: Jackson Browne, Martin Taylor, June Tabor, Richard Hawley, Bonnie Raitt, Danny Thompson, David Hidalgo, Danú, Richard Thompson and Dom Flemons are among the great musicians he has worked with.

He has had the most nominations of any performer in the 18 years of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, an astonishing 32 times, 13 of those as Musician of the Year, winning that particular accolade twice.