Antonio Lizana’s magical, musical blend of jazz and flamenco

Singer-songwriter and saxophone player Antonio Lizana will be performing at Windmills this weekend

The difference between slow cooked and fast food is the luxury of time, a notion Antonio Lizana experienced first hand while crafting his latest album Una Realidad Diferente (A Different Reality).

The Spanish artiste known for his signature style of blending contemporary jazz with traditional flamenco, says his love affair with music began when he was 10 years old. “My father had an extensive collection of vinyls, mostly rock, jazz and flamenco, and we always enjoyed listening to them. I started playing the saxophone when I was 10, beginning with classical music at school and by the time I turned 14, I was playing with local bands,“ says Antonio.

“Flamenco is our traditional music, it is in our souls, and despite being so young I had already begun working with that style of music.”

Antonio says his interest in jazz blossomed when he was 17. “I believed that being a saxophone player required me to be able to improvise. So I started studying jazz, moving across the country to complete my musical education. “

Armed with a degree from Musikene in San Sebastian and encouraged by the Spanish and American faculty there, Antonio began composing music. “Without too much of an effort or pretense, my music began to be a blend of the jazz I had studied and the flamenco that is part of my soul. I was enjoying this style of music, and soon after I graduated from Musikene in 2012, I released my first album De Viento (Of the Wind) at age 24.”

There has been no looking back for Antonio since — he began touring with his first album soon after, composing at a feverish pace; Una Realidad Diferente is his sixth album in 10 years. “During this time, apart from performing with my own band, I would also collaborate with other musicians,” says the artiste. He has collaborated with Grammy winners Arturo O’Farrill ( Offense of the Drum, 2015) and Alejandro Sanz on their award winning works.

Now in India to promote Una Realidad Diferente with four of his five bandmates, Antonio says they will be performing music from their previous albums, too. He says it took the band around two years to compile the new album comprising nine tracks.