Phil Manzanera
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Phil Manzanera (born Philip Geoffrey Targett-Adams, 31 January 1951, in London, England) is one of the UK’s best-known musicians and record producers, having shot to prominence in the early 1970s as the lead guitarist with the seminal band, Roxy Music. He is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading guitarists and is in much demand both as a performer and record producer. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour’s chart-topping album On An Island and played in Gilmour’s band for tours in Europe and North America. He has recently written and presented a series of 14 one-hour radio programmes for station Planet Rock entitled The A-Z of Great Guitarists and is currently working on his new instrumental album, Firebird VII, to be released in 2008.
Manzanera was born in London to a Colombian mother and an English father, and spent most of his childhood in different parts of the Americas, including Hawaii, Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba. It was in Cuba that the young Manzanera, aged 6, encountered his first guitar, a Spanish guitar owned by his mother. His earliest musical accomplishments were Cuban folk songs learnt against the upheaval of the Cuban Revolution.
In Venezuela the eight-year-old Manzanera started experimenting with the sounds of the electric guitar. During his teenage years he was absorbing and marrying the twin influences of 1960s rock and roll with the Latin American rhythms of merengue music, cumbia, and particularly the boleros of the Mexican Armando Manzanero.
Manzanera was determined to join a professional band, and in 1971 he joined the recently formed Roxy Music as lead guitarist. His Roxy bandmates at this time were Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Paul Thompson and Andy Mackay. Roxy’s rise was meteoric, with the band being hailed as the stylistic influence of the early 1970s. During the next 12 years, until 1983 when the band members went on a "long break", Roxy Music released a series of internationally best-selling albums, achieving ten UK Top 10 albums and touring extensively throughout the world. In parallel with Roxy Music, Manzanera has always pursued solo projects, both recording his own albums and producing for others. All his previous solo albums have been digitally remastered and re-released with new artwork on his own label, Expression Records.
As a writer, producer and solo artist, Phil Manzanera has worked with many of the luminaries of modern music, such as Steve Winwood, David Gilmour, John Cale, Godley & Creme, Nico and John Wetton. He has co-written material with many artists, including Brian Eno, Tim Finn, Robert Wyatt and David Gilmour. Manzanera co-wrote Pink Floyd’s single "One Slip" from their 1988 A Momentary Lapse of Reason album.
In the 1990s Manzanera performed in concerts all over the world, including at Guitar Legends, the five-day guitar festival in Seville, where he was musical director for the event as well as playing with Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Jack Bruce and Richard Thompson. He has also played in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Spain, France, Italy and the UK, including a ten-date European tour with the Cuban band Grupo Moncada. He played at WOMAD festivals in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Manzanera ended the 20th Century by appearing with Bryan Ferry at the British Gas Millennium Concert at Greenwich, the first time they had performed together in 18 years.
The Roxy Music "long break" came to an end in 2001 with a critically acclaimed, sold-out, 52-date world tour. In the summer of 2003 Roxy played 10 dates in the US, followed by 13 European gigs in 2004, including performing at Live 8 in Berlin. A new Roxy Music album, their first for over 20 years, is due for release in 2008.
Manzanera has a state-of-the-art studio, Gallery Studios, in West London. The first recording was Robert Wyatt’s album Cuckooland, and so far the growing client list includes Brian Eno, David Gilmour, Annie Lennox, Kevin Ayers, and Chrissie Hynde. Robert Wyatt’s current critically acclaimed album, Comicopera, was recorded at Gallery in 2007.
Phil Manzanera defies easy musical definition, preferring to continually explore new musical directions and experiment with sounds and styles. He began singing on his own albums with Vozero in 2001, followed by 6pm in 2004 and 50 Minutes Later in 2005, continuing Phil’s musical journey, one that takes many twists and turns, and shows his enduring passion and talent for making music.
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[edit] Other efforts
Phil Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island. Within Gilmour fan circles he has gained the nickname 'El Magnifico'. Manzanera also played rhythm guitar on Gilmour's world tour to support the album in 2006.
Manzanera appears briefly playing a guitar solo in Red Dwarf series 6 episode "Psirens". Only his hands appeared playing the guitar, and his credit on the Internet Movie Database lists his role as "Hands of Psiren Lister". [1] On screen he is credited as "the hands of Phil Manzanera".
[edit] Selected discography
- Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974) by Brian Eno
- Fear (1974) by John Cale
- Diamond Head (1975)
- Quiet Sun: Mainstream (1975)
- 801 Live (1976)
- Listen Now (1977)
- K-Scope (1978)
- Primitive Guitars (1982)
- Wetton/Manzanera (1987)
- Nowomowa: The Wasted Lands (1988)
- Crack the Whip (1988)
- Up in Smoke (1989)
- Mato Grosso (with Sérgio Dias) (1990)
- Southern Cross (1990)
- Live at the Karl Marx (1993)
- One World (a reissue of Wetton/Manzanera) (1997)
- Mainstream (1997)
- A Million Reasons Why (1997)
- Manzanera & MacKay (1997)
- Live at Manchester University (1998)
- Vozero (2001)
- Manzanera Archives: Rare One (2000)
- Manzanera Archives: 801 Live @ Hull (2001)
- 801 Latino [live] (2002)
- 6pm (2004)
- 50 Minutes Later (2005)
[edit] As Producer
- John Cale: Fear (1974)
- Split Enz: Second Thoughts (1976)
- Heroes del Silencio: "Senderos de Traición" (1990)
- Heroes del Silencio: "El Espíritu del Vino" (1993)
- Os Paralamas do Sucesso: Severino (1994)
- Fito Páez: Circo Beat (1994)
- Aterciopelados: La Pipa de la Paz (1996)
- David Gilmour: On an Island (2006)
[edit] External links
- http://www.vivaroxymusic.com The most comprehensive site with all of Manzanera's work with Roxy Music as well as his solo work, collaborations and sessions all covered in this Virtual Museum
- www.manzanera.com: Phil Manzanera, Expression Records and the Roxy Music Archive
- Biography at www.smoothjazz1043.com
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