Antonio Lizana

Antonio Lizana drinks from the fountains of flamenco and has done so since an early age in his native town, San Fernando, which is also the place of birth of Camarón de la Isla, maybe the most influencial flamenco singer. The restlessness to explore all possibilities of his first instrument, the saxophone, led him to study classical music and later study jazz. Throughout the course of his learning process is when he felt the need to take flamenco further and to create his project Antonio Lizana Group, where he have in one hand the flamenco tradition and in the other cutting-edge jazz.

Flamenco and jazz influential musicians take their hats off to Antonio Lizana; “Everything’s impressive about Antonio!” claimed the Spa- nish saxophonist Jorge Pardo. Lamari, from world music band Chambao, said his music left her speechless with awe. And singer song writer Javier Ruibal highlighted the “extraordinary bridge Antonio Lizana has built between jazz and flamenco – his captivating personality and exquisite songwriting make him a great artist.”

Worldwide stages are the laboratory where Lizana carries out experiments with his style. Since releasing his debut album in 2012, De viento, until now, he has performed at countless jazz venues and festivals in many differents countries like: Festival de jazz San Javier (Spain), Voll Damn Barcelona (Spain), Bohemia Jazz Fest, (Czech Republic), Baku Jazz festival (Azerbaijan), Jazz Casablanca (Moroc- co), Dusseldorf Jazz Festival (Germany), Shanghai Jazz festival (China)… Delivering a live set that is actually more than a show: it’s a vibrant performance, filled with intensity, wavering between a solemn celebration and a party; between meditation to dance, Cádiz and New York.

On his follow up album, Quimeras del Mar (2015), he navigated through jazz with the guiding inspiration of flamenco music. An album reinforcing this flamenco-jazz style that he managed to raise to Genre category and which also gave him the opportunity to travel from stage to stage. Right after finishing his 104-live show-tour, the saxophone player and flamenco singer opens up to Arabic and Eastern Europe music on his new album Oriente. Lizana is back with an album that gladly welcomes new sounds; a definite step forward as a musician and a socially committed man. “Fronteras”, the song opening the album, is the best example. “Randomly painted borders, time will erase them again”, says the chorus of this track reminiscent of Arabic sounds but without losing his hallmark flamenco vocals or the dominance of jazz on the wind instruments he masterfully plays.

Likewise, Oriente sees Lizana evolve into a mature singer; to the point that now it’s even more difficult to distinguish between the sax player who sings and the singer who plays the saxophone. The artist Javier Ruibal claims that Antonio is a singer AND a saxophonist at the same time, and that he performs both roles with a grace and consistency that is “almost impossible to imitate”. And he may be right.

In 2011 he finished his higher education jazz studies at Musikene, the Advanced Music School in the Basque Country. He had teachers such as Mikel Andueza, Guillermo Klein, Jordi Rossi, Bob Sands,Miguel Blanco, Perico Sambeat, Andrej Olejnizak and Guillermo McGuill amongst others.

It was during his stay in the Basque Country where his own project was born.

He was rewarded with the Cádiz Joven Award in recognition of his impact as an artist Antonio He has collaborated on the last al- bum by Arturo O’Farrill’s Big Band, which is based in New York, as a saxophone player, singer and arranger, being this album a Grammy win- ner as Best Instrumental Latin Jazz Album. He also participated in various concerts with this big band, where he shared the stage with brothers Andy and Jerry Gonzalez, Dave Valentin,

Papo Vazquez, Pablo Mayor, Cristina Pato, Ximo Tevar, Gregg Agust, among others…

He has worked with artists such as Marcus Miller, Chano Domínguez, Jorge Drexler, Chambao, MiguelBlanco, José Mercé, Guillermo McGuill, Samuel Torres, Patáx, Miguel Ríos, Chambao, Raimundo Amador, India Martínez, and with a number of big bands.

Vishuddha is the title of his last album, released by the French label Cristal in October 2023.

This is the name of the fifth chakra in Hindu tradition, and the title of Antonio Lizana’s new album. Translating as „Purity“, Vishuddha is credited with the power to express our deepest truth, bringing beauty to this world.

In the light of such a noble concept, Lizana offers us 9 compositions, revealing the soundscapes of his childhood and the beauty of his hometown: Cadiz. Lizana is a singular artist: a true flamenco singer and a talented jazz saxophonist, with an Andalusian heart and an improvisational soul.

Accompanied by his usual quintet as well as renowned collaborators (Montse Cortés, Louis Winsberg, Sheila Blanco…), Antonio guides us through various flamenco „palos“, recognizable to any good aficionado, arranged and interpreted in an original, generous and ambitious way, where joy and jazz become one.

ANTONIO LIZANA, from southern Spain, is one of the leading figures of the new generation of flamenco jazz.

Jazz saxophonist, flamenco singer and composer of all his own music, he has given hundreds of concerts in over 40 countries with his album „Una realidad diferente“, released by Warner Music Spain in 2020: jazz festivals in Madrid, Barcelona, san Javier, Etnosur, Womex, Jazz sous les pommiers, Scène Nationale de la Rochelle, Arte Flamenco festival in Mont-de-Marsan, flamenco festivals in New York, San Francisco, London, jazz festivals in Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Saint-Louis (Senegal), Jazzahead in Bremen (Germany)…

He was one of the few Spanish artists to perform at the Tiny Desk Concert (NPR), and has collaborated with artists such as Arturo O’Farrill and Alejandro Sanz on Grammy Award-winning works, as well as with Snarky Puppy, Marcus Miller, Chano Domínguez, Alfredo Rodríguez, Ari Hoenig, Jorge Drexler, India Martínez, Jorge Pardo, Shai Maestro, Chambao, José Mercé, Josemi Carmona, Carmen Linares, Pepe Habichuela…

On stage, the native of Cadiz takes us from the roots of flamenco to the most inventive jazz, with a hint of Moorish sounds and a pinch of gypsy culture. Palmas, jaleos, powerful Gaditan chants, jazz and racy improvisations make every Antonio Lizana concert an unforgettable journey.

DANIEL GARCÍA, an influential figure in the new generation of Spanish jazz, is an eclectic pianist who distills a musical universe at the crossroads of different styles, venturing into jazz, Cuban music, pop and flamenco. Winner of the 2011 Best Jazz Performance Award at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, he has accompanied such renowned musicians as Arturo Sandoval, Greg Osby, Antonio Lizana and, most recently, Dhafer Youssef. But it was Danilo Pérez, his Panamanian mentor, who encouraged him to find his own path by delving deeper into the music of his native country.

ARIN KESHISHI was born in 1992 into an Armenian family in Teheran-Iran. He graduated in classical double bass from Tehran University of the Arts before moving to the Netherlands to earn a master’s degree in jazz bass guitar at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he had the privilege of taking lessons with such great bass masters as Dominique Dipiazza, Björn Meyer, Theo de Jong, Frans van der Hoeven, Elie Afif, Or Bareket and Glenn Jr Gaddum.

SHAYAN FATHI was born in 1985 in Teheran, Iran. He began playing drums and percussion at the age of 10 in Austria, where he quickly acquired a deft touch. At the age of 16, he began studying jazz drums at the Vienna Conservatory. Between 2001 and 2003, he won several prizes, including a scholarship to the Drummer’s Collective New York. He has become a renowned musician on the Spanish music scene. To date, he has recorded over 50 albums as a sideman. Shayan Fathi is also much in demand as a mixing and mastering engineer and producer. He is grateful and delighted to have been invited to record and play for a multitude of artists from all musical horizons, such as: Neve Naive (Sonar Collective), Chakuza, The Shadooproject, Mono & Nikitaman, Fagner Wesley Quartet, Count Basic, Francisca Urio, Dhafer Youseff…

EL MAWI DE CÁDIZ, a multi-faceted dancer and singer, was born in Cadiz, where he began his flamenco training with his teacher Charo Cruz, then went on to further his studies with artists such as Javier Latorre, Rocio Molina, Belén Maya…As a professional dancer, he has toured the current flamenco scene in cities such as Berlin, Paris, Rome and Shanghai.His joyful, energetic artistic formula touches all audiences and makes him a unique artist, full of energy, personality and scenic truth.