Gualberto García Pérez
Gualberto Garcia Perez is a musician credited with creating Flamenco Fusion also called Rock Andaluz. Gualberto was born in 1945 in Sevilla, Spain. His maternal grandfather had been a jack of all trades who sung Flamenco named Currillo el Calentero. His Mother, Pastora Perez Peral was an amateur flamenco singer well regarded by her neighbors and still lives. Gualberto entered the Salesians school where his two passions in life were formed: soccer and music. Under the attentive guidance of Don Pedro, his early mentor at the Salesians school Gualberto and his classmates went on to become part of the local lore of Triana when his entire school soccer team was absorbed into the professional Real Betis Balompie soccer club. Gualberto would reach the All-Andalusian team and others, like Quino (Joaquin Sierra Vallejo), would go so far as to play for the Spanish national soccer team.
At age 17, Gualberto leaves soccer to dedicate himself to music, forming the rock group The Bats, followed in 1967 by Smash, a standard and pioneering group in Spanish and Andalusian Rock history. After disbanding the group Gualberto leaves for the US to study music alongside his first wife, an American from New York City. There he begins to establish himself as a composer. His first work was the rock opera " Behind stars " ; in cooperation with the "Good Vibrations Studio" and the "Yoga Symphony Orchestra", he formed a group for it with the famous Hindu sitarplayer Diwan Mothihar. This first solo recording has not been published yet. His early works feature the voice and lyrics of his first wife Jessica Jones Carson.
Returning to Spain he published two solo albums: "A la vida al dolor" ("To the life and the pain ") and "Vericuetos ". In 1976 he spends several months in France and Holland, composing camera music leading to his next record " Other days ". Between 1976 and 1979 he arranges and collaborates on several projects, rock and flamenco compositions all brought together on "Inquietudes a compass"(re-released in 1997). In 1979 he records a fusion album between cante jondo songs (pure flamenco) and sitar called "Gualberto and Agujetas" (included on that disc from 1997 too).
In the eighties he makes mostly orchestration adjustments, in which he arranges the flamenco instrumentations and the classical instrumentation. At this time he arranges "Casta" (=" Chaste ") for Lole and Manuel and "Cuaderno de Coplas" (" Notebook of Songs ") and "A través del olvido" (" Through the forgetfulness) by Carlos Cano, as well as the song " Rimas de Bécquer " for Benito Moreno. He records also the disc "Puentes"(" Bridges "), and a compositions for a clarinet Trio called " Quartet Biennial ", a work for the Banda Municipal de Sevilla as well as a piece called "Turrunuelo" for an inaugural concert of the second Biennial. Gualberto has also directs the Choir Rociero de Triana longer than any other director in its history. The fruit of which are several very successful albums.
In 1983 after some memorable concerts with Ricardo Mino he is asked to record once more in a live recording with Ricardo Mino resulting in the album, "Puente Magico" ("Magic Bridge")
Around 1987, Gualberto becomes involved with the world of musical computer science, creating his own studio, with which he publishes music for cinema and television.
In 1990 he returns to the scenes as an interpreter, performing a long summer tour among which stand out the 1st Cycle of the New Music at the University of Seville. It is from this tour that the album "Sin Commentario" ("No comment") will come forth - published later by Lost Vinyl in 1996. Also of note are his participation at the prestigious International Festival of the Guitar in Cordova, a Festival in Italy, where he played next to Nacho Duato, and Encuentros de Nueva ("New Meetings") together with Wim Mertens. In 1995 Gualberto initiates participates in a new series of concerts, in which he works with diverse instruments upon prerecorded bases, combining different styles and tendencies. In 1998 he records " Resistances " with Ricardo Mino, and in 2000 he records the critically acclaimed "Contrastes" ("Contrasts or With Frets") along with Ricardo Mino and several other artists.