PITINGO

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Flamenco-Soul Singer PITINGO to Debut at FLAMENCO FESTIVAL 2012

First U.S. concert FRIDAY MARCH 9 at Manhattan Center

New CD “Malecón Street” Celebrates Cuban Songwriting from 1940s & 1950s

Bonus track features duet with Mexican musical legend Juan Gabriel

Singer has recorded with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters

FLAMENCO FESTIVAL 2012 debuts an exciting new artist from Spain in this year’s festival, the flamenco soul singer PITINGO. Following CD releases in Spain that featured groundbreaking fusions of traditional flamenco with American gospel and soul, Pitingo at last makes his New York debut with a concert on Friday March 9 at 8:00pm at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom.

Pitingo makes his New York concert debut on the heels of his latest release Malecón Street, an R&B-infused flamenco re-working of traditional Cuban songs from the mid-20th Century, a golden age of musical exchange between Spain and Cuba. These were the songs that filled the air in the 1940s and 1950s when singers from Spain regularly traveled to Cuba to perform in Havana’s nightclubs and on influential Cuban radio shows. In Malecón Street, Pitingo pays tribute to this unique chapter in Latin American musical history, when Cuban singers learned the fine points of Spanish zarzuela and copla, and Spaniards embraced the bolero, guaracha and other Cuban styles.

The result is a remarkable songbook of elegant and evocative works by composers both well-known and obscure. Pintingo’s distinctive voice resurrects them all, its agile, jazzy and softly-broken edges a striking counterpoint to the rougher, more forceful style of traditional male flamenco singers. Pitingo carries the music beyond Cuba to Mexico on Malecón Street with a guest appearance by the legendary Mexican singer/songwriter Juan Gabriel on the closing track “Quiéreme Mucho.”

Pitingo’s only previous visit to New York was in 2008, when he was called to record a track with rock icons Eric Clapton and Roger Waters for a project benefiting the ALAS Foundation, an organization that promotes early childhood development in Latin America.

MUSICIANS:
Pitingo – vocals
Juan Carmona – guitar
Miguel Yadam González – bass
Igot Tukalo – piano, accordion
Fernando Favier Valdosera - percussion

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Pitingo (real name: Antonio Alvarez Vélez) was born into a naval family in the city of Ayamonte in Huelva, Spain, a region famed for giving birth to great flamenco artists. After studying locally, he moved to Madrid where he began performing in underground flamenco clubs, eventually ending up with a weekly showcase at the flamenco bar El Mago (The Magician), a regular haunt of flamenco greatest singing stars, such as Enrique Morente and Carmen Linares. He soon debuted at festivals and theatres across Spain and was signed to Universal Music.

His first CD release, Pitingo con Habichuela, paired the singer with famed guitarist Pepe Habichuela. He quickly distinguished himself from other flamenco singers with his unique R&B and Gospel sensibility. The year 2008 saw the release of Pitingo’s first major effort to merge flamenco with soul and gospel traditions, Soulería, the word-play of the title referring to the flamenco musical style solería. The singer followed that release with 2011’s Olé and Amén, which featured the London Community Gospel Choir. Pitingo’s new release Malecón Street (named for the famous promenade) expands his soulful style to the streets of Old Havana with a collection of elegant and understated Cuban songs from decades past. The CD is available digitally on iTunes.

Flamenco Festival 2012 presents

PITINGO
** U.S. debut **
Friday March 9, 2012 at 8:00pm
Manhattan Center, Grand Ballroom
311 West 34th St
New York, NY
Tickets: $33 – $77
Ticketmaster 1-800-745-3000 http://www.ticketmaster.com

ALSO appearing as part of Flamenco Festival 2012:

FLAMENCO & BEYOND
Thurs March 8 LA SHICA Le Poisson Rouge 8pm
Sat March 10 MUCHACHITO BOMBO INFIERNO SOBS
12mid Sun March 11 CANTECA DE MACAO Le Poisson Rouge 10pm

For a complete schedule of Flamenco Festival 2012 events in the U.S. www.flamencofestival.org