ÁNGEL PARRA ORREGO
Ángel Parra is one of the most important artists in the Chilean music scene. He is the son of the Chilean singer-songwriter Angel Parra and grandson of Violeta Parra; one of the most important composers in the world, who wrote the famous song “Gracias A La Vida”.
As a child Ángel started taking classical guitar lessons and at age 12 his father invited him to play the acoustic guitar in his shows. But he was already being exposed to diverse musical influences from electric guitarists like John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Joe Pass and Barney Kessel, as well as Django Reinhardt.
At age 17 Ángel travelled to France and started a full two year programme in jazz at the prestigious CIM School of Jazz. During this time he studied harmony, arranging, counterpoint and jazz guitar with the famous French jazz guitar teacher Pierre Cullaz. For two years he studied a solid foundation on jazz arranging skills, playing in big bands, and touring in Europe playing jazz, pop and all kinds of music.
At age 18 Ángel toured all over the world with his father, including France, Belgium, Germany Sweden, Finland, USA, and South America.
His trademark sound blended Jazz, pop, rock and folk root music, and in 1988 he joined the hugely influential Chilean rock group “Los Tres”, recording 12 albums.
In 1996 he recorded an MTV unplugged with “Los Tres”, selling thousands of records and travelling all over the planet.
With “Los Tres” he became the first guitar, incorporating sophisticated arrangements, glam rock riffs, fresh country-rock riffs, jazzy guitars and jingle-jangle arpeggios in the style of Johnny Marr, but also showcasing his skills as an advanced improviser.
In 1999 on top of the huge success with “Los Tres” Ángel started recording his own music with his project ¨Ángel Parra Trío¨, one of the most important ensembles of Chilean jazz. With this personal project he began to focus on the style of jazz guitarists like Barney Kessel, Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass, but also Allan Holdsworth the fusion virtuoso.
Parra deepened his abilities as a composer in collective and solo performances, also recording an extensive series of outstanding albums. He also worked as a session guitarist on hundreds of albums.
In 1997 he created an instructional dvd, where he shared his unique creativity and influences and it was very successful, selling thousands of copies. The Chilean guitar world embraced this material, placing him as the most influential guitar hero in Chile.
In 1998 “Los Tres” split up and Ángel started teaching guitar and became famous as a composer for music in Film and TV.
In 2003 he played on the record Spectrum with Billy Cobham in Santiago, Chile.
In 2006 the rock band “Los Tres” called Ángel for a huge comeback, filling arenas, and performing regularly in Mexico. He started touring and recording again.
During all these years Ángel never stopped putting out records and performing shows with his own band ¨Ángel Parra Trío¨. In 2012 he decided to leave the rock band “Los Tres” to start a fully independent career.
In 2012 he was voted “THE BEST CHILEAN GUITAR PLAYER OF ALL TIMES” by Chilean rock magazine Rockaxis.
In 2013 the guitarist reactivated his jazz band ¨ Ángel Parra Trio¨ and he also formed a new sextet called ”Los Fujitivos”, involving some of the most important jazz players of the contemporary Chilean scene. He kept playing and working hard to master new styles and advanced guitar concepts.
2014 his band ¨Ángel Parra Trío¨ played important jazz festivals in Ecuador, Haiti, and Chile.
In 2017 Ángel recorded a new version of his grandmother´s most famous record “Las ultimas composiciones de Violeta Parra” and led a symphonic tribute to his grandmother VIOLETA PARRA with the prestigious orchestra of Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Ángel is currently working on many projects, and recently recorded a new album with his trio which will be available soon.
ANGEL PARRA TRIO DISCOGRAPHY AND YOUTUBE
https://open.spotify.com/artist/06hxCeDcTDV3cuOyws488C?si=ilGeTVwGRQOwf-nvpAF08Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITDP0dOKZaI&t=2916s
LOS TRES DISCOGRAPHY AND YOUTUBE
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4qXIYIWo6wRsN0lZxvgH6S?si=GTMTbt2pQE-0AwmSUnFypw