Josete Ordóñez was born in Madrid in 1963. He began his journey as a guitarist in the flamenco tradition, influenced by the legendary Paco de Lucía. At the age of ten, he started his first guitar lessons.
His initial teacher, Andrés Espasandín, encouraged him to delve deeper into traditional flamenco styles to accompany singing and dancing. He studied at the Amor de Dios and Pilar de Oro dance academies in Madrid.
However, Ordóñez was also interested in other musical genres such as rock, pop, and jazz. In the early 1980s, he formed his first bands, Anábasis and La Piel. During this time, he enrolled in the newly established Taller de Músicos, where he connected with teachers like Eddy Goltz, Sean Leavitt, Jorge Cabada, and Pedro Ojesto, and fellow students like Guillermo Mcguill and Maca. This exposure introduced him to improvisation and jazz.
During these years, he balanced his work as a flamenco guitarist in nightclubs with performances by his avant-garde pop band La Piel. Although the band did not achieve significant commercial success, it became influential among committed musicians.
By the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ordóñez developed a growing interest in world music. In 1992, he founded the instrumental quartet Elementales, with whom he recorded and released three albums: Elementales (1992), Al baño María (1994), and Elementa Latina (1996). These albums received excellent reviews and led to over 300 concerts across Europe. Elementales was not only a rich experience in composition and instrumentation but also marked the beginning of his career in music production.
After the group’s dissolution, Ordóñez collaborated with various artists, incorporating his eclectic guitar style into their music. Some of these artists include Compañía Ibérica de Danza, Eliseo Parra Band, Transiberica, Mónica Molina, Ana Salazar, Melendi, Guillermo Mcguill Quartet, Rosario Flores, Antonio Carmona, La Shica, Amancio Prada, Chambao, Javier Paxariño Trio, Pasión Vega, and Manolo García.
In 2009, he released his first solo album, Por el Mar, a journey through flamenco chill and world music, produced with Luca Germini. This collaboration continued with two more albums, Pedro Paez (2011) and Objetos Perdidos (2014). In his concerts, he began combining music with early 20th-century silent films.
Continuing this innovative approach, Josete Ordóñez released Transeúntes in June 2020. This album features nine tracks accompanied by a comic book that narrates different stories.
In 2024, Josete released the album Nora. He was also selected to perform at the influential showcase Flamenco Eñe.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.