Young & Rollins
Encyclopedia
Young & Rollins is a guitar
duo, consisting of Daniel Young and Lawson Rollins
, that performs and records original music which draws upon an eclectic mixture of salsa music
, Latin jazz
, blues
, samba
, bossa nova
, flamenco
, and classical styles. Their music can be broadly described as a melding of Nuevo Flamenco, World Music
, and Latin Music genres. Daniel Young and Lawson Rollins began collaborating after meeting in Washington, D.C.
in 1998. They came from different musical backgrounds - Rollins started out as a classically trained guitarist before moving into Latin American and flamenco
guitar styles, while Young holds a degree in jazz from The New School
in New York City.
Their debut recording, Salsa Flamenca, on TSR Records
, entered the Billboard
top 25 new age chart shortly after its release in 2000. Their follow-up album, Sevilla, was released in 2001.
A half-hour concert of music from Salsa Flamenca was recorded by MHz Networks
and broadcast on national television throughout 2001-2005.
In 2005, Young & Rollins joined with Bolero Records
and released Esperanza. Their follow-up, Mosaic, was released in 2006.
The music of Young & Rollins appears on a growing list of compilation albums, including Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco, featuring music by Young & Rollins, Ottmar Liebert
, Strunz & Farah
, Armik
, Oscar Lopez
, Govi
, Shahin & Sepehr, Lara & Reyes
, and Jesse Cook
. Other compilation titles include: Tabu: Mondo Flamenco, Bolero Gypsies: New Flamenco, Volume 1, and Caravan.
The Young & Rollins Quintet has performed at several international venues and festivals since the group's inception, including the Perth International Arts Festival
in Australia, the New Zealand International Arts Festival, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Utah Arts Festival, the Salisbury Festival in England, and the Sydney Opera House
.
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
duo, consisting of Daniel Young and Lawson Rollins
Lawson Rollins
Lawson Rollins is an American guitarist and composer from North Carolina noted for his lightning-fast speed solos, virtuoso fingerstyle technique, and melodic compositional skills featured in his recordings...
, that performs and records original music which draws upon an eclectic mixture of salsa music
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, Latin jazz
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
, bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
, flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, and classical styles. Their music can be broadly described as a melding of Nuevo Flamenco, World Music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, and Latin Music genres. Daniel Young and Lawson Rollins began collaborating after meeting in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1998. They came from different musical backgrounds - Rollins started out as a classically trained guitarist before moving into Latin American and flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
guitar styles, while Young holds a degree in jazz from The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
in New York City.
Their debut recording, Salsa Flamenca, on TSR Records
TSR Records
TSR Records is an independent record label based in Tarzana, California, that produced many hit songs in the 1980s, especially dance music. Founded by Tom Hayden and his wife Suzanne...
, entered the Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
top 25 new age chart shortly after its release in 2000. Their follow-up album, Sevilla, was released in 2001.
A half-hour concert of music from Salsa Flamenca was recorded by MHz Networks
MHz Networks
MHz Networks is a Northern Virginia based independent, non-commercial educational broadcaster operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation. The legal broadcast callsigns for the two stations of MHz Networks are WNVC and WNVT...
and broadcast on national television throughout 2001-2005.
In 2005, Young & Rollins joined with Bolero Records
Bolero Records
Bolero Records is an independent record label established in March of 2002 by world renowned Nuevo Flamenco guitarist, Armik, based in Tarzana, California. In addition to Armik, their artist roster includes guitarists Young & Rollins, Romero, and Jason McGuire....
and released Esperanza. Their follow-up, Mosaic, was released in 2006.
The music of Young & Rollins appears on a growing list of compilation albums, including Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco, featuring music by Young & Rollins, Ottmar Liebert
Ottmar Liebert
Ottmar Liebert is a German-born composer and guitarist, born to a Chinese-German father and a Hungarian mother. As a child, he spent most of his time traveling Europe and Asia with his family...
, Strunz & Farah
Strunz & Farah
Strunz & Farah is a guitar duo with an eclectic sound that have 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. Jorge Strunz was one of the founders of the Latin jazz...
, Armik
Armik
Armik is an Iranian-Armenian flamenco guitarist and composer.Armik was born in Iran of Armenian descent. When he was just seven years old, he pawned his watch for a classical guitar, which he hid and practiced in his basement. At 12, he was a professional recording artist...
, Oscar Lopez
Oscar Lopez
Oscar Lopez is a Chilean-Canadian folk and nouveau flamenco guitarist. He has won many awards from the Latino community....
, Govi
Govi
Govi is a new age/ambient musician. One of the most acclaimed and best-selling contemporary instrumental and ethnic fusion musicians, each of Govi’s previous albums have all reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s New Age chart.- Biography :...
, Shahin & Sepehr, Lara & Reyes
Lara & Reyes
Sergio Lara and Joe Reyes formed the instrumental band Lara & Reyes. The duo, founded by Lara in 1994, performed jazz-influenced Latin guitar instrumental pieces from 1994 until 2000...
, and Jesse Cook
Jesse Cook
Jesse Cook is a Toronto-based guitarist, born in Paris to Canadian parents. Like other guitarists of his style of music, he incorporates funky jazz, latin & world music into his playing. Cook is also well known for the energy of his live shows. He has contributed to the Afro Celt Sound System album...
. Other compilation titles include: Tabu: Mondo Flamenco, Bolero Gypsies: New Flamenco, Volume 1, and Caravan.
The Young & Rollins Quintet has performed at several international venues and festivals since the group's inception, including the Perth International Arts Festival
Perth International Arts Festival
The Perth International Arts Festival is Australia's longest running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia between February-March. The program features contemporary and classical music, dance, theatre, opera, visual arts, large-scale public works, Lotterywest Festival Films and the...
in Australia, the New Zealand International Arts Festival, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Utah Arts Festival, the Salisbury Festival in England, and the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
.
External links
- The Official Young & Rollins Website
- Bolero Records
- [ Billboard chart top 25 ranking of the Young & Rollins album "Salsa Flamenca" on The All Music Guide website (select "Billboard Albums").]