Search - Esteban :: Best of Esteban

The King of Info-mercials Lives Up to His Reputation

Thomas D. Ryan | New York | 10/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"No, not Gloria Estefan.

No, not Ricardo Montalban, either (selling Cordobas with interiors made from the finest Corinthian pleather...), although you'd be excused for the confusion. Montalban is remembered for his role on Fantasy Island, and prime-time TV car commercials. Most people only have a vague recollection of Esteban from his own late-night television commercials, when he hawked his latest album with cornball imagery and track samples. This (largely non-existent) correlation would naturally lead you to think of Esteban as a commercial gimmick artist, and it doesn't help matters that his recordings are often labeled as `New Age'. I think that he would be better served if labeled as a `world' artist, since his recordings have a flamenco flair with an accessibility that reaches well beyond the borders of Spain.

But Holy Jesus, I must be wrong! As I'm writing this, an informercial just popped up on the television with Esteban hawking his latest guitar program! Am I suddenly living in an alternate universe? The truth is probably much more mundane - I hate TV, so I simply haven't seen the Esteban TV segments - but obviously, this guy is a signpost of our culture, like Slim Whitman was in the seventies, only with dark sunglasses and a flat-brimmed hat.

Esteban was taught by Andres Segovia, one of the best classical guitarists of our age, but his career was halted when injuries sustained from a serious car accident prevented him from playing for ten years. When he could finally re-approach his instrument, he did so with a positivity that may be responsible for the unfortunate `new age' tag. This "Best of" collection transcends any such label, and it forces me to take the guy seriously. His choice of material here is a tad obvious, including "Besame Mucho," "Fernando" and "Here Comes the Sun," but his playing is both genuine and original. Other tracks reflect his love for Spanish culture, especially "Fuego Malaguena," "Mediterana" and "Porto Allegro," where his heartfelt performances only add to his appeal as a technically gifted instrumentalist. Those who don't know may snicker, but don't sell Esteban short, because there is more here than late-night television (or prime time informercials) indicate. B Tom Ryan"

BLAZING NEW PERFORMANCES OF ESTEBAN FAVORITES!!

RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 10/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Five Stars for one of the world's greatest guitarists!! "Best of Esteban" could also be called Esteban's favorites because he has decided to re-record these hand picked songs adding a different fire and spirit to these wonderful songs. The performances range from soothing to sizzling, and are always fascinating. Songs selected come from basic Esteban CD's such as "All My Love", "Enter the Heart", "Flamenco Y Rosas", and "Songs from My Heart". His performance, along with his very talented daughter violinist Teresa Paul and the 11 piece band, is wonderful, eclectically wonderful so it will suit the listening pleasure of a number of music listeners with a taste for classical, flamenco, pop, and jazzy-tinged treatments of these compositions. No nepotism here, Teresa Paul is a fiery player and her leads and counterpoint with her dad are spellbinding.



The Pieces De Resistance, the best of the best, begin with the beautiful guitar/violin interplay on the intro to the evergreen "Besame Mucho", the awesome guitar fingerings of "Fuego Malaguena", the clave-heavy "Alicante" with a great group performance and a hot trumpet solo. "Only Love" is a great solo guitar performance. He also selects old favorites like George Harrison's "Here Comes The Sun" from the Beatles' "Abbey Road" recording and Del Shannon's "Runaway", which may seem like an odd choice but totally works for Esteban. In all, a wonderful set of performances by the guitar wizard and his group. The longest performance comes in around 5:26 and the total CD time is over 40 minutes. Just remember there are other versions out there in previous recordings which are different performances from these songs. Highly Recommended. Five BLAZING Stars!!



(Notes:

*This review is based on an ITunes digital download of 12 tracks with interludes.

*Esteban, aka Stephen Paul, studied for years in Spain under the guitar master Andres Segrovia in both master classes and private instruction. Segrovia gave him his professional name. The physical accidents which Esteban endured are a story in themselves: he was virtually unable to play at one point but persisted in 're-teaching' himself to play. I think of that determination everytime I hear him play his wonderful music.)"

Esteban The Master Guitarist

Blake Gregory | Washington, DC | 11/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Make no mistake, Esteban is one of the Masters of the Classical style guitar. He plays with a smooth simplistic style that cries out to be appreciated in a time of so many guitarists that play overdriven elctric features. Esteban brings class and style to the guitar that few can ever hope to bring. I cannot encourage you enough to check out this wonderful guitarists efforts by buying this CD. You will not go wrong. Esteban is the Master of the Guitar!"