François Reyes (born 9 June 1954), better known as Canut Reyes, is a French guitarist, singer, songwriter, and painter of Spanish Gitano descent, best known for being part of the group

Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings (originally Los Reyes) are a musical group founded in 1979 in Arles, France. The band, whose members have Catalans, Catalan heritage, play a blend of Catalan rumba, flamenco, Salsa music, salsa, and Pop music, pop. They perform mos ...

Biography

Canut Reyes was born in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, the son of flamenco vocalist Jose Reyes (1928–1979) and Clementine Nésanson (died 2005). Canut was part of the musical group his father and brothers started around 1974, called Jose Reyes et Los Reyes. They played their version of

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

at private parties in the south of France. José Reyes died in 1979, after battling lung cancer. After their father's death, the brothers joined with their Baliardo cousins, adopting the new name

, a tribute to their gypsy roots and the surname "Reyes" which means "kings" in Spanish. Gipsy Kings recorded their first two albums, ''

Allegria ''Allegria'' (Italian; "joy") is the debut studio album by the Gipsy Kings, released in 1982 in Europe. Overview This album and its successor, '' Luna de Fuego'', are very different from their later albums. They are both "unplugged" and traditi ...

'' (1982) and ''

Luna de Fuego ''Luna de Fuego'' is the second studio album by the Gipsy Kings, released in 1983 in Europe. Background Just like ''Allegria'', ''Luna de Fuego'' is denoted to be more traditional than their next albums with only acoustic guitars, voices, and ha ...

'' (1983). Despite strong support from personalities such as

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

and

Francis Lalanne Francis Lalanne (born Francis-José Lalanne on 8 August 1958 in Bayonne) is a French-Uruguayan singer, songwriter and poet. He is the brother of composer Jean-Félix Lalanne and film director René Manzor. Free Art He opposed the HADOPI law< ...

, the group was unable to break through, and Canut and Patchaï left the band. Reyes continued his musical activities in various other groups, playing mainly at private parties. In 1989, he released his first solo album, ''Bolero'', a tribute to

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

. Gipsy Kings had in the meantime signed a production contract with EMP. After an eponymous album, issued in 1987, they recorded ''

Mosaïque ''Mosaïque'' is the fourth studio album by the Gipsy Kings, released in 1989 in Europe and Canada. The main difference between the two versions is the replacement of the instrumental "Bossamba" on the European release with "Niña morena" on the ...

'' in 1989. Reyes was not involved in these recordings, but he joined the group for the world tour following the release of ''Mosaïque''. Reyes met brothers

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

and

Gildas Boclé Gildas (English pronunciation: , Breton: ''Gweltaz''; ) — also known as Gildas Badonicus, Gildas fab Caw (in Middle Welsh texts and antiquarian works) and ''Gildas Sapiens'' (Gildas the Wise) — was a 6th-century British monk best known for ...

in Japan in 2001, which was the beginning of a collaboration that led to the recording of ''Gitano'', Reyes' second solo album, released in 2012.

Discography

Solo

* ''Bolero'' (1989) * ''Gitano'' (2012)

José Reyes et Los Reyes

* ''Jose Reyes & Los Reyes'' (1974) * ''Gypsy Poet'' (1977) * ''The Love of One Day'' (1978)

Los Reyes

* ''Festival of Saintes Maries de la Mer'' (1982) * ''Tribute to Jose Reyes'' (1991)

Celtic Tales (Boclé Brothers)

* ''Crossfields'' (2010)

References

External links

Reyes' personal blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Canut French guitarists French male guitarists Flamenco guitarists 1954 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Gypsy jazz guitarists French male jazz musicians French male singer-songwriters French singer-songwriters Gipsy Kings members