Biel Ballester (born 1974) is a

gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane Gr ...

guitarist from

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

, Spain. He contributed music to the

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

film ''

Vicky Cristina Barcelona ''Vicky Cristina Barcelona'' is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson in lead roles. The plot centers on two American women, Vicky ...

''.

Biography

Biel Ballester is from Mallorca in Spain. He studied classical guitar under Àlex Garrobé at the Escola D'Arts Musicals Luthier in Barcelona. He discovered the music of

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

at age 18, and his music is a fusion of

and Spanish music. With Leo Hipaucha (rhythm guitar) and Oriol González (double bass) he formed the Biel Ballester trio. He was introduced to

during the filming of

. Allen, a jazz clarinet player, played frequently with Ballester during this time and included two of his tracks on the soundtrack of the film.

Discography

As leader

* ''Echoes from Mallorca'' (Refined, 2005) * ''Live in London'' (Le Q, 2006) * ''Bistro de Barcelona'' (Refined, 2008) * ''Jazz a l'Estudi'' (TVC Disc, 2011) * ''Avanti!'' ( Hot Club, 2011) * ''Melodium Melodynamic'' (La Cupula Music, 2015) * ''The Lowdown'' (Hot Club, 2015)

As sideman

Jon Larsen Jon Larsen (born 7 January 1959) is a gypsy jazz guitarist, record producer, painter, and amateur scientific researcher. He is the founder of the group Hot Club de Norvège. In 2007 he received the Buddy Award for his lifelong contribution to ...

, ''Short Stories from Catalonia'', (Hot Club, 2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballester, Biel Living people 1974 births Spanish male guitarists Continental jazz guitarists Gypsy jazz guitarists Spanish jazz guitarists 21st-century guitarists 21st-century male musicians Male jazz musicians