 Celebrate the music of the Mediterranean with 90.7 KFSR's new program - The View From Gibraltar. Hosted by John Martin III of the local flamenco group Cerro Negro, The View From Gibraltar takes the listener on a musical tour of Spain, North Africa and the Middle East every week. You can hear the View From Gibraltar Saturday mornings at 6:00 AM and Sundays at 8:00 PM starting Saturday October 31st.
 About John Martin III & Cerro Negro
Spanish guitars, blended with Latin percussion, create the gypsy-influenced, acoustic sound of Cerro Negro. While enjoying the fusion of Flamenco, Brazilian, and Jazz guitar techniques with Latin, Africa, and Middle-Eastern percussion, Cerro Negro’s music soars with passionate vocals embracing a village of rhythms, styles, and Languages. Cerro Negro creates their own unique synergy by combining sounds from the roots of Flamenco music with cutting-edge instrumentation and orchestration.
Cerro Negro is from Fresno and includes lead guitarist Dusty Brough, rhythm guitarist Frank Giordano, and percussionist/lead vocalist John Martin III. Brough is an exciting young guitarist who is captivating audiences with his virtuosity. Giordano plays both Flamenco guitar and piano switching up the group’s instrumentation throughout the performance. Martin has two Bachelors degrees in music and performs on his custom percussion setup which includes instruments from around the world.
The biggest ingredient in the group’s fusion sound is based on the sounds of Flamenco. The roots of Flamenco have many sources from across the gypsy migration from India to Africa and Europe. Andalucia, the southern most region of Spain, is the birthplace of Flamenco. In the Fifteenth Century, the rural mountainous areas of this region served as the crucible for a cultural fusion, now known as Flamenco. These small gypsy communities were, and still are the centers of this world such as Alcalá, Utrera, Jerez, Cádiz and Triana the barrio of Sevilla. This flexible trio, while staying true to these ancient rhythmic traditions explores new musical frontiers with a rhythmic authenticity rarely seen in a group from the west.
In the past 10 years, Cerro Negro has performed throughout the United States from Boston to Hawaii, and in a myriad of different venues ranging from cultural centers and Universities, to regional festivals and concert halls. Cerro Negro’s passionate sound transcends generations and appeals to a wide variety of musical tastes because of its coupling of unique guitar techniques, exotic percussion and emotional vocals.
|
