Krency Garcia, better known as El Prodigio, is a famous merengue típico accordionist from Cabrera,

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. He is known throughout the genre for his rapid instrumental solos, his origination of fusion in merengue tipico with genres like

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

,Elprodigio.com
/ref> and his rivalry with fellow accordionists, Geovanny Polanco and Kerube (head of the tipico band Kerubanda). While the latter two are slightly more traditional, El Prodigio is more experimental, and has included instruments such as

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

, and wurlitzer piano in his lineup, along with the standard accordion, tambora,

güira The güira () is a percussion instrument from the Dominican Republic used as a percussion instrument in merengue, bachata, and to a lesser extent, other genres such as cumbia. It is made of a metal sheet (commonly steel) and played with a sti ...

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, and

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

s of today's merengue tipico.

Biography

Krency began playing the accordion at a young age, and gave his first public performance at the age of 5. He proceeded to play on various children's TV shows that aired in the Dominican Republic. He later studied jazz at Berklee Institute of Music in the United States, and later used elements of jazz in his improvisation techniques and albums. In addition to fusion, he is also known for his interpretation of traditional merengue típico and salsa standards, such as "Juanita Morel", "El Estrujao", "Cualquiera Llora (Tatico Llorando)" and "La Vida es un Carnaval." His American music interpretations include "Mountain Dance" (originally performed by Dave Grusin) and "Twist and Shout" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

Discography

*''El Hombre Acordeón En Vivo'' (2007) *''Pambiche Meets Jazz'' (2005) *''From Santo Domingo Live! (Vivo)'' (2005) *''Cabecita Loca'' (2004) *''En Vivo'' (2003) *''Que Se Vaya'' (2001) *''Se Alocó'' (1998) *''Krency Garcia, El Prodigio y la banda tipica, Interplanetario *''Krency Garcia, El Prodigio y la banda tipica, en vivo''

References

External links

El Prodigio's official siteYoutube video of Geovanny Polanco vs. El Prodigio at Club AmazuraYoutube video of "Periblues", an example of El Prodigio's jazz and merengue tipico fusion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prodigio, El Dominican Republic musicians Merengue musicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century accordionists