Luis Villegas (born July 28, 1969) is an American guitarist who released an album called '' Cafe Olé'' in 1996, which was nominated for the ''Best New Album'' award at the

41st Annual Grammy Awards The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, recognizing musical achievements from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill led the ceremony with a record-breaking 10 nominations, becoming the first woman ...

in 1999. Villegas's style combines

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather tha ...

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, ...

, and

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. He is known for using a technique of playing fast, intricate lines by using the fingernail of his right index finger in place of a guitar pick. He also had a small role as a member of a band in the film '' Collateral'' starring

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

and

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, a Grammy Award ...

. He is currently a member of the group ''Heavy Mellow'', along with founder Benjamin Woods and percussionist Mike Bennett.

Early life

Luis Villegas is a first-generation Mexican-American born in

East Los Angeles, California East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, ...

, U.S. He grew up listening to traditional Mexican Ranchero music and taught himself to play guitar in the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and classical genres. As a boy, he met the Mexican Ranchero singer,

Vicente Fernandez Vicente is a Spanish and Portuguese name. Like its French variant, Vincent, it is derived from the Latin name ''Vincentius'' meaning "conquering" (from Latin ''vincere'', "to conquer"). Vicente may refer to: Places * São Vicente, Cape Verde, an ...

. However, it was rock music that attracted him (rather than traditional Mexican music), because the heavy metal explosion was in full swing in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Career

Early years

Villegas played in rock bands all through High School and into college, receiving some mild success with the band

Slumlord A slumlord (or slum landlord) is a slang term for a landlord, generally an absentee landlord with more than one property, who attempts to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance, and usually rents to tenants that they can ...

in 1988 and 1989 (fronted by Scott Kidd who later went on to become a famous radio DJ known as Uncle Scotty). Luis quit Slumlord in 1990 when he found he needed a different musical stimulus.

Experimental years

After leaving Slumlord, Villegas began playing the acoustic guitar and experimenting with classical,

, and even

music. Being self-taught, he emulated guitarists from the records he listened to like

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...

Paco De Lucia Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as (father of the community); ...

, and

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

among others. Many of his current techniques are based on flamenco guitar techniques such as

rasgueado Rasgueado (also called Golpeado, Rageo (spelled so or Rajeo), Rasgueo or Rasgeo in Andalusian Spanish, Andalusian dialect and flamenco jargon, or even occasionally Rasqueado) is a guitar finger strumming technique commonly associated with flamenco ...

, alzapua and picado. In 1991, he recorded a demo of original material in a style that was very new to American audiences. This new style was being made popular at the time by artists such as

The Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings (originally Los Reyes) are a musical group founded in 1979 in Arles, France. The band, whose members have Catalan heritage, play a blend of Catalan rumba, flamenco, salsa, and pop. They perform mostly in Spanish but also mix in C ...

, and Strunz and Farah. Luis then formed a band to play some of this new material. The band, which originally consisted of friends from rock bands he had previously played with, formed a huge following in the Los Angeles area.

Café Ole

In 1996, Villegas recorded and released his first CD independently entitled '' Café Ole'', produced by David Scheffler and Guillermo Guzman. Members of his band as well as studio musicians,

Gregg Bissonette Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. Bissonette is known for playing and recording many different styles of m ...

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the fathe ...

, and

The Rippingtons The Rippingtons are an American contemporary jazz group, mainly relating to the genres smooth jazz, jazz fusion, jazz pop, and crossover jazz. Formed in 1985 by guitarist and band leader Russ Freeman, their career has spanned more than three d ...

Steve Reid Steve Reid (January 29, 1944 – April 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer who played with Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti, Kieran Hebden, and Sun Ra. He worked as a session drummer for Motown. Biography Born in ...

, among others lent their talents to the CD. Less than a year later, Luis signed his first recording contract with

Domo Records Domo Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Domo Records was established in 1993 by Eiichi Naito, a record producer, recording engineer, and artist manager. ''Domo'' is an abbreviation and romanization of the J ...

, and affiliate of

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

records. In 1999, ''Café Ole'' was re-released by Domo/EMI records with a new cover and some newly recorded songs in 1998. The album earned a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination for ''Best New Age Album'' in 1999. Villegas released his second album, ''Spanish Kiss'', through Baja/TSR records in 2000. He also appeared on various compilation CDs during the following two years. Guitarists worldwide took notice when Villegas' name appeared alongside guitar icons such as

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist and songwriter. A seven-time Grammy nominee, he is best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the longest serving guitarist for Deep Purple. Morse also enjoyed a successful ...

Ottmar Liebert Ottmar Liebert (born 1 February 1959) is a German guitarist, songwriter and producer best known for his Spanish-influenced music. A five-time Grammy Award nominee, Liebert has received 38 Gold and Platinum certifications in the United States, as ...

Jesse Cook Jesse Arnaud Cook (born November 28, 1964) is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, ''Acoustic Guitar'' Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guita ...

and

Strunz & Farah Strunz & Farah is a guitar duo with an eclectic sound that has been described as a cross between world fusion and flamenco. History Jorge Strunz, born in Costa Rica, and Ardeshir Farah, hailing from Iran, met in the United States in 1979. Jor ...

. ''Casa Villegas'' (Baja/TSR), his third CD, was released in 2003 and marked Luis' debut as a producer as well as performer. It stayed on the SmoothJazz.com charts for six weeks after its release on the strength of the single "Whittier Blvd.". Villegas was asked by his label, Baja/TSR, to create a Christmas album. After working on it for some time, negotiations for producing the album fell through and Luis subsequently left the label to pursue his career as an independent artist. The Christmas album, ''Guitarras de Navidad'' found its way to his fans anyway. Then, in 2007, the album was updated with several additional songs and a new cover and licensed to the

Tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

label, under the guidance of Juan Carlos Quintero. It was released in August for the 2007 holiday season. In 2001, Villegas recorded a duet with classical guitarist

Liona Boyd Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, (born 11 July 1949) is a Canadian classical guitarist often referred to as the 'First Lady of the Guitar'. Music career Early years Boyd was born in London and grew up in Toronto. Her father grew up in Bilbao, Spai ...

, which was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

(the Canadian Grammy). In 2003, he performed with Nuevo Flamenco guitarist

, and performed for

Carmen Electra Carmen Electra (born Tara Leigh Patrick, April 20, 1972) is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis where she met Prince (musician), Prince who produced her Carm ...

and

Dave Navarro David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Between 1993 and 1998, Navarro was the guitarist of Red Hot Chili ...

's much-publicized wedding on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in 2004. Villegas has also worked with

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

, and

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

. In December, 2004 the Luis Villegas Official Fan Club was formed, and the members continue to fully support Luis’ music. On December 21, 2007, Luis was featured in an interview with Val Zavala and performed with several of his band members on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television show "Life and Times."

Heavy Mellow

Luis is currently performing in a flamenco trio called Heavy Mellow, founded by Los Angeles flamenco guitarist Benjamin Woods. ''Heavy Mellow'' performs heavy metal songs by the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne and others, but in a style of two flamenco guitars and a cajon player. They performed music cruises such as The Monsters of Rock, The Moody Blues Cruise and YES Cruise to the Edge. Heavy Mellow have one self-titled album released in 2013.

Personal life

Luis resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife, Gloria, and two children Christian and Krista. He is currently teaching guitar at

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to Samohi or SMHS, is a public high school in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Bo ...

as adjunct faculty for

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The coll ...

and flamenco guitar at

Orange County High School of the Arts Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA, ), is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual, literary arts, cul ...

as part of its Instrumental Music Conservatory.

Discography

Albums

*''Cafe Olé'' (1998) ''Nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best New Age Album'' *''Spanish Kiss'' (2000) *''Casa Villegas'' (2003) *''Guitarras De Navidad'' (2007) *''Eastside Democracy'' (2016)

Singles

* ''Eastside'' (2013) * ''Rainbow in the Dark'' (2016) * ''Can’t Take My Eyes Off You'' (2021) * ''Vente Pa Madrid'' (2021) * ''Breathe'' (2021) * ''Cuban Breeze'' (2021)

Other compilation appearances

*''Music for the Spirit, Volume 2'' (1999) (

) *''Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco - Volume I'' (2000) ( Baja/TSR Records) *''Music for the Spirit, Volume 3'' (2001) (

) *''Tabu: Mondo Flamenco'' (2001) (

Narada Narada (, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hinduism, Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the Manasputra, mind-created children of Brahma, the creator ...

) *''Journey to the Heart IV: Music for Massage'' (2002) (

) *''Camino Latino / Latin Journey - Liona Maria Boyd'' (2002) (Moston) *''Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco - Volume II'' (2002) ( Baja/TSR Records) *''Barcelona: Music Celebrating the Flavors of the World'' (2004) (

Williams Sonoma Williams Sonoma is an American retailer of cookware, appliances, and home furnishings. It is owned by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and was founded by Chuck Williams (author), Charles E. (Chuck) Williams in 1956. History In 1947, Chuck Williams settle ...

) *''Gypsy Spice: Best Of New Flamenco'' (2009) ( Baja/TSR Records) *''The World Of The Spanish Guitar Vol. 1'' (2011) (

Higher Octave Music Higher Octave Music is a sub-label imprint of Narada Productions. Since 2013, it is part of Universal Music Group's Capitol Music Group, which is located in Los Angeles. History Higher Octave was acquired by Virgin Records on behalf of EMI in 1 ...

) *''Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco - Volume III'' (2013) ( Baja/TSR Records)

Musicians

Luis has performed with many artists, such as: *

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

: singer/guitarist *

: bass * Alberto Salas: piano *

: drums *

David Garfield David Garfield (September 27, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He has recorded with Smokey Robinson, Cher, Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather, Spinal Tap, Geo ...

: piano * Carlos Rodriguez: piano * Jose Garcia: guitar/vocals * Juan Carlos Portillo: bass * Rene Camacho: bass * Chris Trujillo: percussion *

Ramon Yslas Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1967. Self-described as a "rock and roll band with horns," their songs often also combine elements of classical music, jazz, R&B, and pop music. Growing out of several bands from ...

: percussion * Jorge Villanueva: percussion * Pablo Correa: drums * Paul Tchounga: drums * Andy Abad: guitar *

Guillermo Guzman Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People * Guillermo Amador (born 1974), American musician *Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanis ...

: bass * Luis Perez: percussion *

Joey Heredia Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...

: drums * Ricardo “Tiki” Pasillas: drums * Michito Sanchez: perc * Rique Pantoja: piano *

Charlie Bisharat Charlie Bisharat (born March 15, 1963) is an American violinist known as a member of Shadowfax and for his work in film and with other new age jazz artists. Life and career He was born in Inglewood, California, in 1963 to Palestinian parents w ...

: violin *

: percussion * Arturo Solar: trumpet * Garret Smith: trombone * Carlos Cuevas: piano * Fausto Cuevas: percussion * Ronnie Gutierrez: percussion * Ricky Adorno: bass * Scott Vomvolakis: perc * Keith Dasalla: perc * Rene Castro: percussion * Jesse Stern: bass * Cassio Duarte: percussion

External links

Luis Villegas , Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Villegas, Luis Living people American musicians of Mexican descent 1969 births Musicians from California Domo Records artists

Early life

Career

Early years

Experimental years

Café Ole

Heavy Mellow

Personal life

Discography

Albums

Singles

Other compilation appearances

Musicians

See also

External links