Esteban is the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

of Stephen Paul (born 1948).The Tao of Esteban
Gilbert Garcia, ''Phoenix New Times'', September 21, 2000; accessed June 15, 2007. He is from the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

area and has lived in

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

since 1976. He gained commercial success by selling his instructional DVDs and guitars on

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pen ...

and

HSN HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flo ...

Biography

Paul was the oldest of four children. He recounts that he began playing guitar at the age of eight when his uncle brought him a nylon-stringed guitar. He attended South Hills Catholic High School (since absorbed into

Seton-La Salle Catholic High School Seton LaSalle Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. In 2016, under the direction of former sc ...

) in Mt. Lebanon.South Hills Catholic reunion with Esteban
Al Lowe, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', February 8, 2007; accessed June 15, 2007. He then attended

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

, where he double-majored in music and English. At this time, he was teaching approximately 150 students a week and playing in nightclubs.

Segovia

Esteban states that at this point in his studies of the guitar, he felt a strong desire to study with

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students. Segovia's contribution to the m ...

. According to Esteban, after a long period where he pursued Segovia by sending notes to the hotels where he was staying, finally meeting Segovia in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1972 and studied with him intermittently for the next five years, splitting his time between

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The extent of the connection between Segovia and Esteban, however, is heavily disputed. Although Esteban did meet Segovia, Esteban is not mentioned in any biography of Segovia, and Esteban never received the public acknowledgment Segovia gave students such as

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

and

Eliot Fisk Eliot Hamilton Fisk (born August 10, 1954) is an American classical guitarist. Music career Education and teaching Fisk was born into a Quaker family in Philadelphia. He finished high school in DeWitt, New York, and then studied music at Yale Un ...

. Segovia

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

ed one of his books for Esteban in 1978 with a flattering message, but Segovia is known to have signed hundreds or thousands of such messages.

Musical transformation

Esteban moved from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

with his wife, and daughter, Teresa Joy in 1978. During the next two years, he toured playing classical music. In 1980, while driving his mother home from the airport, Esteban was involved in a collision with a drunk driver. He was left with broken ribs, missing teeth, and a light-sensitive eye. He recovered but was left with nerve damage in his hands. Unable to play the guitar, he sold solar energy systems for Reynolds Aluminum. During his long recovery, he decided to move away from playing only classical music. After recovering some of the use of his fingers in 1988, he had begun playing again by the end of 1989.

Commercial success

Esteban had been playing at a

Hyatt Regency Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

hotel when he released his first album in 1991. He hired a keyboardist in 1992 and has subsequently added a five-piece band including drummer Joe Morris. Audiences responded well to Esteban's charisma and frequently bought his albums. In 1999, Esteban came to the attention of

Joy Mangano Joy Mangano (; born February 1, 1956) is an American inventor and entrepreneur known for inventions such as the self-wringing Miracle Mop. She was the president of Ingenious Designs, LLC, and appeared regularly on the U.S. television shopping c ...

at Ingenious Designs, inventor of the Miracle Mop and other household accessories sold on

. She recognized Esteban's charisma and he was invited to play on QVC in November 1999. Soon after, Ingenious Designs was bought out by

and Esteban achieved commercial success. He sold 132,000 CDs after two appearances on HSN in the summer of 2000, and two of his albums reached the top 54 entries in the ''Billboard'' 200. Esteban quit playing at the Hyatt in 2000. He has since been featured in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' and ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

''. From 2001 to 2003, Esteban released over a dozen additional albums, four of which placed in the lower half of the Billboard 200. He has been featured in various infomercials advertising his guitars and instructional DVDs.

Esteban Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend t ...

entry at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

; accessed June 15, 2007. Esteban landed his first major CD distribution deal (with Sony

RED Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...

) with the release of ''The Best of Esteban'' in October, 2006.Livin’ the Dream: Esteban Brings His Music to the Mainstream
Heather Turk, socal.com, accessed on line June 15, 2007.

Discography

* ''Songs From My Heart'' (1992) * ''Flamenco Y Rosas'' (1995) * ''Enter the Heart'' (1998) * ''Pasión'' (1999) * ''Heart of Gold'' (2001) * ''Spirits of the West'' (2001) * ''What Child Is This'' (2001) * ''Duende'' (2001) * ''All My Love'' (2001) * ''At Home With Esteban'' (2001) * ''Holiday Trilogy'' (2001) * ''Joy to the World'' (2001) * ''Esteban Live'' (2001) * ''Flame, Flamenco & Romance, Vol. 1'' (2001) * ''Esteban By Request'' (2001) * ''Flame, Flamenco & Romance, Vol. 2'' (2002) * ''Walk Beside Me'' (2002) * ''Eternal Love'' (2003) * ''Live in Sedona'' (2003) * ''Happy Holidays'' (2003) * ''Esteban & Friends: Live in Sedona'' (2003) * ''Back 2 Back'' (2003) * ''Celebrate the Memories'' (2004) * ''Father/Daughter'' (2004) * ''The New Flamenco Y Rosas'' (2006) * ''The Best of Esteban'' (2006)

References

External links

Official website
*