Full House at Library for Visiting Guitarist

In spite of Saturday’s rain, a capacity crowd filled the performance room at the to see renowned guitarist Gabriel Ayala.

More than 140 people turned up to see Ayala play his unique blend of musical genres. His show incorporated everything from flamenco and tango to jazz and classical music, all played on a single guitar.

Ayala's performance at the New Port Richey Public Library showcased a new “synthesizer guitar” made by Canadian guitar-maker Robert Godin. This guitar allows Ayala to layer his performances with other instruments, such as piano and saxophone to forge his own unique sound.

Between songs Ayala took the time to speak to his listeners and explained the backgrounds to many of the songs he played in an informative and engaging way.

Ayala is highly trained musician who holds a Masters Degree in Music Performance from the University of Arizona and is currently working on his doctorate degree. His latest CD is entitled “Passion, Fire & Grace” and features a new genre of music that Ayala created. He calls it JazzMenco. As the name implies, it is a fusion of jazz and flamenco, intensely rhythmic with free-flowing melody on top.

“I’ve always been a fan of jazz improvisation and the driving rhythms of flamenco, so I decided to combine the two,” Ayala said.

Ayala says he has always strived to take his music in new directions. His other albums include “Tango,” which was released in 2008, and consisted of well-known tango compositions, arranged specifically for guitar. His next project is a planned album of Chopin music, again rearranged for the guitar.

As a youth, Ayala listened mostly to mainstream music. One day, he heard a classical guitarist playing and fell in love with the sound.

“I had to have it in my life,” Ayala exlained. He was already proficient with several other instruments, including piano, saxophone and violin, when his mother bought him his first guitar and he has never looked back.

Ayala's career has taken him all over the world and allowed him to share the stage with such artists as The Temptations, The Four Tops and The Gypsy Kings.  The highlight so far was when he was invited to play at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ayala said.

“The performance was streamed all over the world,” Ayala said. “That was a big moment in my life.”

Currently residing in Tucson, Ayala is a member of the Yaqui People of southern Arizona. While deeply proud of his heritage, Ayala says he tries to avoid using his background as a gimmick.

“I don’t want to be the “Indian guitar player,” I’d rather be known as a classical guitar player who happens to be Native American,” he said. 

The event was coordinated by Ann Scott, the outreach director for New Port Richey Public Library.

“Every year, I try to schedule a performance from every genre,”  Scott said. "With Gabriel, it’s great because you get it all in one concert.”

Ayala's performance was givento the library for a modest honorarium. For details of future events at the library, check out their website www.nprlibrary.org.

For more information on Gabriel Ayala, visit his website at www.ayalaguitarist.com