Vicente Amigo

Sunday, September 24, 2017 | 7:00 pm

Page Auditorium

Modern flamenco master Vicente Amigo began playing guitar as a young child after he saw Paco de Lucía — the dashing flamenco legend who rose to fame in the 1970s — performing on television. Two decades later, at the Universal Exposition of Seville, Amigo shared the stage with de Lucía, who became a lifelong friend, confidant, and collaborator. Before his death in 2014, de Lucía effectively passed the flamenco mantle to Amigo.

Over his three-decade career, Amigo has received a long list of accolades including a Latin GRAMMY for Best Flamenco Album, First Prize at the International Flamenco Guitar Competition, and the Gold Medal of the Merit in Fine Arts from Spain’s Ministry of Culture. Amigo’s dazzling style combines the soleá rhythm of puro flamenco with elements of bulería, bolero, rumba, tango, and alegría. An exceptional bandleader, Amigo will bring his expert quintet, along with a singer and a flamenco dancer, to Durham for this rare U.S. engagement. No less an authority than Pat Metheny called Amigo: “the greatest guitarist alive.”

“Technically stunning and emotionally free-flowing, Amigo is a quick-witted improviser and a visionary.”