Biel Ballester

This virtuoso guitarist, like so many others, travelled the reverse path of black music and, setting out from rockabilly, ended up arriving at the blues. He settled in Barcelona in the late nineties and here he studied the guitar and became a figure of jazz manouche, with some highly praised compositions of his own and original, uniting tradition with a personal and innovative vision. Passion, joined to technique, has allowed him to carve out an international reputation for himself, on a par with Stochelo Rosenberg or Christian Escoudé, performing at the most prestigious festivals. He has also taken part in compilation recordings of the best gypsy jazz in the world and his music has reached the cinema with the soundtrack of Woody Allen’s film Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona. A devotee of black roots music, he moves with absolute assurance through the music of New Orleans, traditional jazz, Balkan music or the blues, a music he admires for its depth and versatility: “Honestly: the blues scale seems to me a stunning combination of sounds. Henri Mancini can use it and create atomic melodies; John Lee Hooker can use it and give meaning to his human existence”.