Carlos Núñez Muñoz
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Carlos Núñez Muñoz (born 1971) is a
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
musician and multi-instrumentalist who plays the gaita, the traditional Galician
bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...
, Galician
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
,
ocarina The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the bo ...
, Irish flute,
whistle A whistle is a musical instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It is a type of Fipple, fipple flute, and may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a s ...
and
low whistle The low whistle, or concert whistle, is a variation of the traditional tin whistle/pennywhistle, distinguished by its lower pitch and larger size. It is most closely associated with the performances of British and Irish artists such as Tommy Mak ...
.


Life and career

Nuñez was born in 1971 in
Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...
, Galicia. He began playing the bagpipes when he was eight years old. In his early teens, he was invited to play with the Festival Orchestra of the
Festival Interceltique de Lorient __NOTOC__ The (French), Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celts (modern), Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by . This annual ...
in
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
. He studied the recorder at the Royal Conservatory in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and quickly gained stature as a young virtuoso. He met
Paddy Moloney Paddy Moloney (; 1 August 1938 – 12 October 2021) was an Irish musician, composer, and record producer. He co-founded and led the Irish musical group the Chieftains, playing on all of their 44 albums. He was particularly associated with the re ...
of
The Chieftains The Chieftains were a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous w ...
and performed with the band two years later, becoming referred to as the "7th member" of the band. He appeared on their Grammy-winning ''
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
'', which focused on Galician music and included other artists such as
Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...
and
Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...
. He has collaborated with
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...
,
Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and Diatonic button accordion, melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shann ...
,
Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...
,
The Chieftains The Chieftains were a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous w ...
, Altan and La Vieja Trova Santiaguera. He collaborated with
Liam O'Flynn Liam O'Flynn, Óg Flynn (, 15 September 1945 – 14 March 2018) was an Irish people, Irish Uilleann pipes, uilleann piper and Folk music of Ireland, Irish traditional musician. In addition to a solo career and as a member of Planxty, O'Flynn re ...
on The Piper's Call to perform ''Muiñeira de Poio / Muiñeira de Ourense.'' His most renowned album was 1996's '' A Irmandade Das Estrelas'', which sold an unprecedented 100,000 copies, and included collaborations with
Nightnoise Nightnoise was a music ensemble active from 1984 to 1997. Their original blend of Irish traditional music, Celtic music, jazz, and classical chamber music inspired a generation of Irish musicians. They released seven albums on the Windham Hill ...
, Luz Casal, Tino di Geraldo,
Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill is an acclaimed Irish traditional singer, keyboard player, and composer. She is considered one of the most influential female vocalists in the history of Irish music. Throughout her career, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill has worke ...
and
Mícheál Ó Domhnaill Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (; 7 October 1951 – 7 July 2006) was an Irish singer, guitarist, composer, and producer who was a major influence on Irish traditional music in the second half of the twentieth century. He is remembered for his innovat ...
,
Kepa Junkera Kepa Junkera Urraza (born 1965 in Bilbao, Basque Country (autonomous community), Euskadi, Spain) is a Basque people, Basque musician and composer. A master of the trikitixa, the diatonic accordion, he has recorded more than 10 albums. Allmusic ...
, Ry Cooder, The Chieftains, and Dulce Pontes. He was a key collaborator in Dulce Pontes">Allmusic ...
, Ry Cooder, The Chieftains, and Dulce Pontes. He was a key collaborator in Tamiya Terashima">Dulce Pontes">Allmusic ...
, Ry Cooder, The Chieftains, and Dulce Pontes
. He was a key collaborator in Tamiya Terashima's soundtrack for the film Tales from Earthsea (film)">Tales from Earthsea (''Gedo Senki''), released in July 2006. He also released an additional album, titled ''Melodies from Gedo Senki'', which included new Gedo Senki open source tracks (OST) along with new tunes by Carlos himself. On his 1999 album ''Os Amores Libres'', he collaborated with French producer Hector Zazou. He continues to tour the world playing in large and small venues. Nuñez was in Japan in October 2011 reciting at two locations, at Sarutahiko Shrine in Ise, Mie and a live house in Tokyo with regular collaborator Pancho Álvarez (
bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...
), his brother Xurxo Nuñez (percussion) and Begona Rioboo (fiddle) working with an
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
n singer songwriter
Koja Misako Koja may refer to: *Kathe Koja Kathe Koja (born 1960) is an American writer. She was initially known for her intense speculative fiction for adults, but has written young adult novels, the historical fiction ''Under the Poppy'' trilogy, and a fict ...
and keyboardist Sahara Kazuya. He played his first major North American tour in October 2012, accompanied by his brother Xurxo on percussion, Álvarez on guitar, fiddle player Katie McNally (in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
), and fiddle-player Sahra Featherstone and singer Eleanor McCain (in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
). He was hailed as the "Hendrix of the bagpipes". In 2010 he collaborated with the French
Puy du Fou Le Puy du Fou () is a historical theme park in Les Epesses, in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France. In 2024, it was the third ...
theme park in the creation of their show "The Secret of the Lance." In January 2013 he embarked on a seven date tour of the UK with fellow pipe-player Philip Pickett and
early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...
ensemble The Musicians of the Globe. In 2016 he participated in the film J: Beyond Flamenco by
Carlos Saura Carlos Saura Atarés (4 January 1932 – 10 February 2023) was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. With Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be among Spain's great filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career th ...
, the legendary Spanish film maker who reveals the energy and passion of the
jota Jota may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet; * (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet; * The name of the ...
, a waltz-like castanet dance with its origins in Saura's home province of Aragon. Around a Celtic circle, Nuñez with his bagpipe directed the Galician jota. Surrounded by musicians and dancers, he got a crescendo that ends up being one of the most energetic and magical moments of the film.


Albums

* ''A irmandade das estrelas'' (''Brotherhood of Stars'') - 1996 * ''Os Amores Libres'' - 1999 * ''Maio Longo'' - 2000 * ''Todos Os Mundos'' - 2002 * ''Un Galicien en Bretagne'' (a.k.a. ''Finisterre: the End of the Earth'') - 2003 * ''Cinema Do Mar'' - 2005 * ''En Concert'' - 2006 CD & DVD * ''Melodies from Gedo Senki (Tales From Earthsea)'' - 2007 * ''Alborada do Brasil'' - 2009 * ''Discover'' - 2012 * ''Inter-Celtic'' - 2014, Sony * ''Vuélveme a Ti'' - 2022 * ''Celtic Sea'' - 2023


See also

*
Galician traditional music The musical traditions of the Northwest Iberian Peninsula include those of Galicia, Asturias, and Cantabria. The music of Galicia and Asturias is characterized by the use of bagpipes, with some similarities to the music of Cantabria. History It ...


References


External links

*
Video J: Beyond Flamenco de Carlos Saura, galician jota by Carlos Núñez

J: Beyond Flamenco Web.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez Munoz, Carlos 1971 births Musicians from Galicia (Spain) Players of Galician bagpipes Living people Bagpipe players Players of Spanish bagpipes Madrid Royal Conservatory alumni People from Vigo Spanish flautists Galician traditional music groups