MUSIC

 On Saturday, October 9 at 8:00 p.m., Boston's critically acclaimed flamenco guitarist Juanito Pascual and his ensemble will present THE JUNGLEWOOD CONCERT, a spectacular world-infused flamenco concert at the Somerville Theatre [55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144].

“We are going to be celebrating rain forest restoration through the power of music,” says Juanito. “My band for this concert will feature flutist, soprano saxophonist and vocalist Stan Strickland, flamenco dancer and vocalist José Moreno, violinist Rohan Gregory, percussionist Sergio Martinez, bassist Tal Gamleili, guitarist Seiki Tamura and other special guests. In addition I have agreed to co-found the wonderful rain forest eco-arts project called Junglewood and this concert will serve as an announcement of my full support.”

Tickets priced at $42, $32, and $20 are on sale now on line at http://www.feitheatres.com or at the Somerville Theatre Box Office located at 55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144. For more information, call: 617-625-4088. The Somerville Theatre is wheelchair accessible.

In 2009 and 2010 Juanito performed throughout the United States, in Canada, Spain, Holland, Mexico and in Panama, where he was a featured artist at the 2010 Panama Jazz Festival spearheaded by jazz pianist Danilo Perez. While in Panama, Juanito connected with connected with the youth leadership organization Earth Train, that manages the 12,000-acre Mamoni Valley Preserve, a world campus for education, restoration, training in bio-cultural restoration, conservation and sustainable development located in Panama. Among Earth Train's lead partners are Fundación Danilo Perez, the Kuna General Congress, Panama's Frank Gehry-designed Museum of Biodiversity (BioMuseo), the California Academy of Sciences, EcoReserve.org, the Global Institute of Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Global Brigades, Rainforest Capital, LLC and the Jane Goodall Institute.

Junglewood is Danilo Perez’s new rain forest project at Earth Train which is dedicated to restoring human oneness with nature through the arts and ecology. Juanito Pascual has joined Danilo in helping to create what will be an artistic community and a performing and visual arts center located on the 12,000-acre Earth Train preserve in the Panamanian rain forest. Construction of permanent facilities overlooking the Rio Mamoni will start in 2011 but Juanito’s pioneering “Flamenco From Within” workshops at Junglewood will begin taking place at Earth Train even before Junglewood physical construction begins.

“With this concert we’re celebrating Juanito Pascual’s debut as a co-founder of Junglewood and as a role model for artists worldwide who are on their journey toward mastery. His achievement of virtuosity as a flamenco guitarist and his originality as a composer are a tribute to his tireless dedication to honoring, crossing and weaving cultural traditions. The music and nature workshops that he is pioneering at forest’s edge at Junglewood will inspire young artists, energized by the bio-cultural riches of Mother Earth, to reach toward the stars,” says Nathan Gray, Co-Executive Director of Earth Train.

Language of the Heart is Juanito’s most recent release. The CD features a virtual “Who's Who” of some of the biggest names in flamenco, jazz and world music. The stunning release features two of the finest new flamenco singers on the scene Elena Andujar (who’s dances and sings in the films The Devil's Advocate and Flamenco Women) and Leo Triviño, virtuoso bassist John Patitucci (who’s performed with Chick Corea, B.B. King, Joni Mitchell and Herbie Hancock), one of the foremost world music and jazz percussionists in the United States, Jamey Haddad (who’s performed with Paul Simon, Paul Winter), noted cajón player Gonzalo Grau (the Grammy®-nominated leader of "La Clave Secreta"), electric bassist Sean Kupisz (who performed with Al di Meola) Spain’s star flamenco dancer Nino de los Reyes, pianist Alex Conde Carrasco, violinist Rohan Gregory, flutist Stan Strickland and percussionist Jerry Leake.

Pascual is a Minneapolis native who moved to Spain as a teenager and immersed himself in flamenco culture by playing in the subways of Madrid and cutting his teeth on the streets studying with legendary flamenco artists. He moved back to the United States, attended New England Conservatory and subsequently had a string of successes including performing internationally with some of today’s top flamenco, jazz and world music artists, collaborating with Boston-based composer Osvaldo Golijov on his Grammy®-winning opera Ainadamar, performing in prominent Spanish nightclubs and even landing a small part in the recent movie Pink Panther 2 with Steve Martin!  

Juanito was also recently a special guest performer with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra at Cleveland’s renowned Severance Hall in a special concert hosted by world percussionist Jamey Haddad. In Europe, he was featured in concert with guitarist El Periquin and he also has a duo project going with virtuoso guitarist Grisha Goryachev.

As an educator, Juanito regularly hosts flamenco workshops at New England Conservatory of Music, in various cities in Europe and in Panama. He has also just completed a method book which will be published by Alfred Press and is due this fall.