Sabicas (proper name: Agustín Castellón Campos) (16 March 1912 – 14 April 1990) was a Spanish

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 ...

guitarist of

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

origin.

Biography

Sabicas was born in

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

, Spain, and began playing guitar at the age of five and made his performing debut two years later. His early style was influenced by

Ramón Montoya Ramón Montoya (November 2, 1879, Madrid, Spain – July 20, 1949, Madrid, Spain), Flamenco guitarist and composer. Born into a family of Gitano (Romani) cattle traders, Ramón Montoya used earnings from working in the trade to purchase his first g ...

, to whom he was related on his mother's side of the family. Extensive collaboration with important ''cantaores'' (male flamenco singers) of the period helped him develop his personal style. Leaving Spain in 1936 during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, he went into exile in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

with ''bailaora'' (dancer)

Carmen Amaya Carmen Amaya Amaya (2 November 1913/1915 – 19 November 1963) was a Spanish Romani flamenco dancer and singer, born in the Somorrostro district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She has been called "the greatest Flamenco dancer ever Clarke, Mary ...

. He lived in Mexico City, married Esperanza González Erazo and had four children: Maricruz 1944, Carlos 1946, Agustine 1952 and Margaret 1956. Agustine and Margaret live in New York City, Maricruz lives in Alaska, and Carlos is deceased. Amaya and Sabicas toured together several times. Sabicas later settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where he formed a life-long friendship and business association with classical guitarist Rolando Valdés-Blain. He did not return to his native Spain until 1967. Sabicas was instrumental in the introduction of flamenco to audiences outside of Spain and the Spanish-speaking world. He was probably best known for his technical skills: blazingly fast ''

picados A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar but with thinner tops and less internal bracing. It usually has nylon strings, like the classical guitar, but it generally possesses a livelier, more gritty sound compared to the clas ...

'' (scales), fast

arpeggios A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...

, quality composition for the many forms of flamenco, and infallible rhythm, which was critical when playing with a dancer. He was also considered to have

perfect pitch Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection, completeness, excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (2018 film), a science ...

. "The finest technique around has got to be Sabicas, the flamenco player,"

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

told ''

Guitar Player Magazine ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print s ...

'' in March 1972. Sabicas was one of flamenco's greatest guitarists, not only as a technician, but also as a composer. He played flamenco at a previously unimaginable level and created new techniques, opening up new possibilities for the solo instrument. He brought his art to concert halls and major theaters, making it available to all classes. Modern players such as

Paco de Lucía Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flame ...

Paco Pena Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fat ...

Tomatito José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito (born Fondón, 1958), is a Spanish roma flamenco guitarist and composer. Having started his career accompanying famed flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla (with Paco de Lucía), he has made a number of ...

, Serranito, René Heredia, Juan Manuel Cañizares,

El Viejín El Viejín, (born José Jiménez in 1963 in Madrid), is a Spanish flamenco guitarist. He is often billed as José Jiménez 'El Viejín'. "El viejín" means "a little old man". He acquired this nickname when very young because listeners were ama ...

Vicente Amigo Vicente Amigo Girol (born 25 March 1967) is a Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist, born in Guadalcanal near Seville. He has played as an accompanying guitarist on recordings by flamenco singers Camarón de la Isla, and Luis de Córdoba, an ...

, Gerardo Nuñez, Javier Conde and many more acknowledge the great influence of Sabicas's music. Sabicas died at the age of 78 at a hospital in New York, New York, of complications from pneumonia and multiple strokes.

Discography

The following is a partial list of LPs recorded by Sabicas. Some but not all have been reissued on CD or MP3, many under different titles. Some dates are tentative, since many LPs (Decca in particular) did not carry a date (or carried the date of reissue). The many anthologies are not listed. * 1949 ''Flamencan Guitar Solos'' * 1957 ''Sabicas Vol. 1'' (CD = ''La Guitarra Flamenca'') * 1957 ''Sabicas Vol. 2'' (CD = ''La Guitarra Flamenca'') * 1958 ''Sabicas Vol. 3'' * 1958 ''Gypsy Flamenco'' * 1958 ''The Day of the Bullfight'' * 1958 ''Romantic Guitars'' (with Mario Escudero. CD = ''Masters of the Spanish Guitar'') * 1959 ''Flamenco!'' (with Carmen Amaya) * 1959 ''Queen of the Gypsies'' (with

. MP3 = ''The Best of Carmen Amaya'') * 1959 ''Flamenco Puro'' * 1959 ''Serenata Andaluza'' (with group) * 1959 ''Solo Flamenco'' * 1959 ''Fantastic Guitars'' (with

Mario Escudero Mario Escudero (October 11, 1928 – November 19, 2004), was one of a handful of Spanish flamenco guitar virtuosos who, following on the footsteps of Ramón Montoya, Ramon Montoya, helped spread flamenco beyond their Spanish homeland when they mig ...

) * 1960 ''Festival Gitana'' (with Los Trianeros) * 1960 ''Flamenco Fantasy'' (CD = ''Adios a la guitarra.'' MP3 also available under the original title) * 1960 ''Furioso'' (with

Dolores Vargas María Dolores Castellón Vargas (16 May 1936 – 7 August 2016) was a Spanish singer. When she was young she went to sing to the theatre Teatro Calderón of Madrid. She sang alongside her brother, Enrique. Later she appeared on television, nota ...

) * 1960 ''Soul of Flamenco'' * 1960 ''Flamenco Variations on Three Guitars'' * 1961 ''Flamenco Virtuoso'' * 1961 ''Rhythms of Spain'' (with group) * 1961 ''Flamenco Styles'' (with

) * 1961 ''El Terremoto Gitano'' (with

) * 1962 ''Concierto en Flamenco'' (with orchestra) * 1963 ''Flamenco Reflections'' * 1963 ''Flaming Flamenco Guitar'' * 1965 ''El Rey del Flamenco'' * 1967 ''Flamenco Fever'' * 1967 ''Guitars of Passion'' * 1968 ''Artistry in Flamenco'' * 1969 ''3 Guitarras Tiene Sabicas'' * 1969 ''Arte Gitano'' * 1969 ''La Historia del Flamenco'' (with many singers. CD = ''Sabicas,'' RCA ND 74612) * 1969 ''La Guitarra de Sabicas'' * 1970 ''Rock Encounter'' (with Joe Beck) (recorded in 1966) * 1971 ''The Soul of Flamenco and the Essence of Rock'' * 1972 ''Flamenco!!'' * 1972 ''¡¡Olé!!'' (with Adela la Chaqueta) * 1972 ''Sabicas in Concert'' (CD = ''Concierto Vol. 2'') * 1972 ''Fiesta Flamenca'' (with various old-time singers) * 1976 ''The Art of the Guitar'' * 1990 ''Nueva York-Granada'' (with Enrique Morente) * 2014 ''Al compás de mi guitarra'' (compilation from pre-WWII 78s, with the top singers of the day)

References

External links

Sabicas discography (in Spanish)

- In Spanish * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabicas 1912 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Spanish musicians Elektra Records artists People from Pamplona Romani guitarists Spanish flamenco guitarists Spanish male guitarists Spanish Romani people Flamenco guitarists 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Spanish male musicians