François Reyes (born 9 June 1954), better known as Canut Reyes, is a French

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

ist of Spanish Gitano descent, singer, songwriter and painter, best known for being part of the group The

Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa, and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in southern France, who perform mostly in Catalan but also mix in Spanish with southern French dialects. Although the group members were born in France, t ...

Biography

Canut Reyes was born in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, the son of flamenco vocalist Jose Reyes (1928–1979) and Clementine Nésanson (deceased in 2005). Canut was part of the musical group his father and brothers started around 1974 called ''Jose Reyes et Los Reyes''. They played their version of

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

at private parties in the south of France. José Reyes died in 1979 after battling lung cancer. At the end of the 1970s, the brothers joined with their Baliardo cousins, adopting the new name "

", a tribute to their gypsy roots and the surname "Reyes" which means "Kings" in Spanish. The

recorded their first two albums, ''

Allegria ''Allegria'' (Italian; "joy") is the debut studio album by the Gipsy Kings, released in 1982 in Europe. Overview This album and its successor, ''Luna de Fuego'', are very different from their later albums. They are both "unplugged" and traditio ...

'' (1982) and ''

Luna de Fuego ''Luna de Fuego'' is the second studio album by the Gipsy Kings, released in 1983 in Europe. Background Just like ''Allegria'', ''Luna de Fuego'' is denoted to be more traditional than their next albums with only acoustic guitars, voices, and ha ...

'' (1983). Despite strong support from personalities such as

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

and

Francis Lalanne Francis Lalanne (born Francis-José Lalanne on 8 August 1958 in Bayonne) is a French-Uruguayan singer, songwriter and poet. He is the brother of composer Jean-Félix Lalanne and film director René Manzor. Free Art He opposed the HADOPI law

, the group was unable to break through, and Canut and Patchaï left the band. Canut Reyes continued his musical activities in various other groups, playing mainly at private parties, and worked by day in a cement factory in

Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tarasc ...

to provide for his family. In 1989 he released his first solo album ''Bolero'', a tribute to

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

The Gipsy Kings had in the meantime signed a production contract with EMP. After a first eponymous album issued in 1987, they recorded Mosaic in 1989. Canut was not involved in these recordings, but he joined the group for the world tour following the release of Mosaic. Canut Reyes has been a full member of the Gipsy Kings since 1990, he participated in all of their recordings and a majority of tours around the world. Canut met brothers

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

and

Gildas Boclé Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recounts ...

in Japan in 2001, this was the beginning of a collaboration that led to the recording of ''Gitano'', Canut Reyes' second solo album, released in 2012.

Discography

Solo

* 1989 – ''Bolero'' * 2012 – ''Gitano''

José Reyes and Los Reyes

* 1974 – Jose Reyes & Los Reyes / Album Éponyme * 1977 – ''Gypsy Poet'' * 1978 – ''The Love of One Day''

Los Reyes

* 1982 – ''Festival of Saintes Maries de la Mer'' * 1991 – ''Tribute to Jose Reyes''

Celtic Tales (Boclé Brothers)

2010 – ''Crossfields''

References

External links

Canut's Personal Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Canut French guitarists French male guitarists Flamenco guitarists 1954 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) French singer-songwriters Gypsy jazz guitarists Male jazz musicians French male singer-songwriters