Oscar Lopez

Oscar Lopez
Oscar Lopez in 2013
Background information
Born	1953 (age 62–63) Santiago, Chile
Origin	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Genres	New Flamenco, Instrumental, Latin, Jazz, Folk, World
Occupation(s)	Musician, guitarist, composer
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Fantasy of Latin Strings, Socan, Jericho Beach Music, Narada, Centino Music, P.R.O.
Associated acts	Compadres, James Keelaghan, Pavlo, Rik Emmett
Website	www.oscarlopez.com
Notable instruments
D'Addario strings Pro Arte EJ46 Hard Tension Silverplated Wound Clear Nylon

Oscar Lopez (born 1953 in Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean-Canadian master guitarist whose signature style combines fiery solos and Latin rhythms with Jazz and Pop sensibilities. Lopez moved to Canada, first to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1979 and then in 1981 he settled in Calgary, Alberta. He began pursuing music as a career, becoming a popular draw on the Canadian music festival circuit and released his debut album, Hola, in 1989. He started as an Independent recording artist and then joined the Narada label. Many successful years with Narada produced four albums and numerous compilations. "Classical Soul" broke into the "Latin Charts" during its first few weeks and then came the very popular Guitar Greats featuring Oscar's song "The Flavor", as well as tracks by Ottmar Liebert, Strunz & Farah and many more.

Lopez took a break from recording and performing for two years to deal with depression. As a result, Spirit of the West recorded a tribute song to Lopez, "Come Back Oscar", on their 2004 album Star Trails. On 24 July, Lopez appeared on stage with Spirit of the West at the Calgary Folk Music Festival to perform the song.

In 1997 Lopez began playing in a group known as Compadres, playing a style of music that was referred to as "Celtino". This collaboration with longtime friend and Singer/Songwriter James Keelaghan resulted in a self-titled album that year (they later toured Australia in 2005). In 2007 they recorded another album, ¿Buddy Where You Been? and toured extensively across Canada with Percussionist Raphael Geronimo and Bassist David Woodhead.

In 1998, Lopez co-produced the album, Volcán: Tributo a José José, a tribute album dedicated to the iconic Mexican singer José José.

His next recording project was with Pavlo and Rik Emmett (lead guitarist from rock group, Triumph), known as P.R.O. The CD is called, Trifecta and it was released in 2009. This powerful and tuneful trio played 50+ live dates around North America in support of the CD.

Lopez released his latest recording Apasionado on 21 October 2014 as an independent artist.

Awards and nominations

Juno Awards

The Juno Awards is a Canadian awards ceremony presented annually by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Oscar Lopez won the 2002 Juno for Best Instrumental Album and the 2005 Juno for Instrumental Album of the Year and received an additional 7 nominations.

Juno Awards Artist Summary Oscar Lopez

Other Awards

1999: Prairie Music Awards Winner Instrumentalist of the Year

2002: SOCAN Winner Hagood Hardy Jazz/Instrumental Award

And Is a two-time recipient of the Hispanic Excellence Award for the achievements as the Hottest Latin Guitarist.

Discography

Other compilation appearances

• Masters of Acoustic Guitar (1997) (Narada) (Track 5 – Classical Soul (Edit))
• Narada Smooth Jazz (1997) (Narada)
• Narada World A Global Vision (1997) (Narada)
• The Next Generation: Explore Our World (1997) (Narada)
• Gypsy Passion: New Flamenco (1997) (Narada)
• Gypsy Soul: New Flamenco (1998) (Narada)
• Stories (1998) (Narada) (Track 3 – Looking Back)
• Narada Film and Television Music Sampler (1998) (Narada)
• Narada Guitar: 15 Years of Collected Works (1998) (Narada)
• Obsession: New Flamenco Romance (1999) (Narada)
• Latino Christmas (1999) (Narada) (Track 2 – Happy Christmas, Track 6 – White Christmas, Track 9 – Little Town of Bethlehem)
• Nuevo Flamenco (1999) (Virgin France)
• Gypsy Fire (2000) (Narada)
• Global Transmissions (A World Music Sampler) (2000) (Narada)
• Narada Guitar 2: The Best of Two Decades (2000) (Narada)
• Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco – Volume I (2000) (Baja/TSR Records)
• Tabu: Mondo Flamenco (2001) (Narada)
• Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco – Volume II (2002) (Baja/TSR Records)
• Best of Narada New Flamenco Guitar (2003) (Narada)
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Latin Christmas (2005) (EMI Music/Metropolitan Museum of Art) (Track 1 – Happy Christmas, Track 13 – White Christmas)
• The World of the Spanish Guitar Vol. 1 (2011) (Higher Octave Music)
• Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco – Volume III (2013) (Baja/TSR Records)

See also

References

External links