Roger Espinoza was born in Granada, Nicaragua, Roger Espinoza and his family relocated to Los Angeles when he was two years of age, and he still resides there. "My Dad played piano," he notes. "It inspired me so much as a child, that I asked to be enrolled in private music courses. My Father agreed because I could figure out some melodies by ear just from listening to his record collection. The first instrument I learned to play was the trombone; it turns out that this instrument serves as the foundation of many Latin music studies in countries like Cuba, Argentina and Brazil, which have produced so many great composers and soloists as well as now-timeless rhythms like the tango, rumba, mambo, cha cha and samba. So now, I can play a little piano, trombone, trumpet and bass guitar by ear. Of course, my favorite instrument is the Spanish nylon guitar, especially when it is played solo in the form of Classical or Flamenco styles."
By diligent practice, Espinoza was accepted as a student of Costa Rican guitar maestro, Jorge Strunz, one half of the celebrated duo, Strunz & Farah, as well as by critically-acclaimed flamenco soloist, Gino Di Auri. "Now my technique is a very disciplined one," Espinoza says. "It requires extra effort to learn the different styles of Rumba and Flamenco because of the many different sub-rhythms and timings that are different for each style. It's not like Rock or Heavy Metal guitar where most tunes are played in 4/4. The Spanish guitar is a craft that needs to be learned how to be played in the right way, and involves tedious hours of right and left hand techniques."
Espinoza also learned to sing in these styles, and began performing live and contributing to other artists' CDs. He can be heard on Luis Villegas' bestselling 'Cafe Ole", as well as on a Latin release by K.C. entitled 'Aqui Estamos Todos'. He contributed a samba-inflected tune, 'Mi Casa', for a Spanish house music compilation produced by the dance label Vu Deja, as well as recorded with former Barrio Boyz member, Angel Ramirez. |
|
