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Esteban (musician)

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This article is about the guitarist Esteban. For other uses, see Esteban (name).

Esteban (born 1948 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the stage name of classical/flamenco guitarist Stephen Paul.[1] Recognizable by his bolero hat and sunglasses, Esteban has gained commercial success by selling his CDs and guitars on QVC and HSN.[2][3]

History

Esteban, the son of a steelworker, was the oldest of four children. He recounts that he began playing guitar at the age of eight when his uncle brought him a nylon-stringed guitar.[1] He attended South Hills Catholic High School (since absorbed into Seton-La Salle Catholic High School) in Mt. Lebanon.[3] He then attended Carnegie Mellon University, where he double-majored in music and English. According to Esteban, at this time, he was teaching approximately 150 students a week and playing in nightclubs.[1]

Segovia

Esteban states that at this point in his studies of the guitar, he felt a strong desire to study with Andrés Segovia. According to Esteban, after a long period where he pursued Segovia by sending notes to the hotels he was staying at, he at last met Segovia in Los Angeles in 1972 and studied with him intermittently for the next five years, splitting his time between Spain and California. The extent of the connection between Segovia and Esteban, however, is heavily disputed. Although Esteban did meet Segovia, Esteban is not mentioned in any biography of Segovia, and Esteban never received the public acknowledgment Segovia gave students such as John Williams and Eliot Fisk. Segovia autographed one of his books for Esteban in 1978 with a flattering message, but Segovia is known to have signed hundreds or thousands of such messages.[1]

Musical transformation

According to Esteban, he moved from Southern California to Phoenix with his wife and daughter in 1978. During the next two years, he toured playing classical music. In 1980, while driving his mother home from the airport, Esteban was involved in a collision with a drunk driver. He was left with broken ribs, missing teeth, and a light-sensitive eye. He recovered but was left with nerve damage in his hands. Unable to play the guitar, he sold solar energy systems for Reynolds Aluminum. During his long recovery, he decided to move away from playing only classical music. After recovering some of the use of his fingers in 1988, he had begun playing again by the end of 1989.[1]

Commercial success

At this time, Esteban was playing at a Hyatt Regency hotel. He released his first album in 1991.[4] He hired a keyboardist in 1992 and has subsequently added a five-piece band including drummer Joe Morris. Audiences responded well to Esteban's charisma and frequently bought his albums.[1] In 1999, Esteban came to the attention of Joy Mangano at Ingenious Designs, inventor of the Miracle Mop and other household accessories sold on QVC. She recognized Esteban's charisma and he was invited to play on QVC in November 1999. Soon after, Ingenious Designs was bought out by HSN and Esteban achieved commercial success. He sold 132,000 CDs after two appearances on HSN in the summer of 2000, and two of his albums reached the top 54 entries in the Billboard 200.[1] Esteban quit playing at the Hyatt in 2000.[5] He has since been featured in The Wall Street Journal and People Magazine.[6] From 2001 to 2003, Esteban released over a dozen additional albums, four of which placed in the lower half of the Billboard 200.[7] He has also been featured in various infomercials advertising his guitars and instructional DVDs.[2] Esteban landed his first major CD distribution deal (with Sony RED Distribution) with the release of The Best of Esteban in October, 2006.[8][9] It is a popular belief that the band Panic! at the Disco named a song after him, I Constantly Thank God for Esteban. This, however, is a direct reference to the 2004 Wes Anderson film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which starred Bill Murray.

Criticism

Esteban has used Segovia heavily in his marketing, citing himself, for example, as being "one of 14 guitarists in the world endorsed by the legendary Andrés Segovia." Critics have pointed out that Esteban began making these claims only after Segovia had died, making them impossible to verify, and that it is unlikely that Segovia, a classical purist, would have approved of Esteban's form of popular music.[1]

Discography

  • The Best of Esteban (2006)
  • The New Flamenco Y Rosas (2006)
  • Father/Daughter (2004)
  • Celebrate the Memories (2004)
  • Back 2 Back (2003)
  • Esteban & Friends: Live in Sedona (2003)
  • Happy Holidays (2003)
  • Live in Sedona (2003)
  • Eternal Love (2003)
  • Walk Beside Me (2002)
  • Flame, Flamenco & Romance, Vol. 2 (2002)
  • Esteban By Request (2001)
  • Flame, Flamenco & Romance, Vol. 1 (2001)
  • Esteban Live (2001)
  • Joy to the World (2001)
  • Holiday Trilogy (2001)
  • At Home With Esteban (2001)
  • All My Love (2001)
  • Duende (2001)
  • What Child Is This (2001)
  • Spirits of the West (2001)
  • Heart of Gold (2001)
  • Passion (1999)
  • Enter the Heart (1998)
  • Flamenco Y Rosas (1995)
  • Songs From My Heart (1995)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h The Tao of Esteban, Gilbert Garcia, Phoenix New Times, September 21, 2000, accessed on line June 15, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Esteban, entry at Allmusic. Accessed on line June 15, 2007.
  3. ^ a b South Hills Catholic reunion with Esteban, Al Lowe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 8, 2007. Accessed on line June 15, 2007.
  4. ^ Esteban—Discography—Main Albums, Allmusic. Accessed on line November 9, 2007.
  5. ^ Esteban at Arizona Celebrity Sightings. Accessed on line June 15, 2007.
  6. ^ Bio, Esteban official website. Accessed on line June 15, 2007.
  7. ^ Esteban—Charts & Awards, Allmusic, accessed on line November 9, 2007.
  8. ^ Best of Esteban, review, Chris M. Slaweci, allaboutjazz.com. Accessed on line June 15, 2007.
  9. ^ Livin’ the Dream: Esteban Brings His Music to the Mainstream, Heather Turk, socal.com, accessed on line June 15, 2007.
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