Flamenco guitarist and composer Juan José Heredia Heredia, better known as “Niño Josele,” was born in Almería, Spain in 1974.
Niño Josele grew up in a family of flamenco artists. His father was a singer and gave his son a guitar at the age of 6.
He has collaborated with an impressive cast of flamenco, pop and jazz artists, including Lenny Kravitz, Alicia Key, Elton John, Calamaro, Serrat, Bebo Valdés and, above all, two great flamenco maestros: Enrique Morente and Paco de Lucía, who chose El Niño as the second guitarist to record and show the world his Cositas Buenas (“good things”) album.
In 1995, Niño Josele released his first album, Calle Ancha. A year later, he won the Young Performers Contest at the Seville Biennial of Flamenco.
He accompanied, among others, Remedios Amaya, Tomatito, Pepe de Lucía, Montse Cortés and Duquende; but the greatest path to popularity was made with Diego El Cigala. They grew up together until they reached the Teatro Real (Royal Theater) and the recording of an extraordinary concert in 2002. Shortly before, on the album El Sorbo (2001), he shared the limelight with producer and musician Javier Limón, and with a number of leading singers.
His collaborative album, Los Piratas del flamenco, came out in 2002. This was the result of numerous nighttime performances with trumpeter Jerry González at Madrid jazz clubs.
In 2003, he released his second album, self-titled, produced by Javier Limón, featuring flamenco icon Enrique Morente, Argentine rock star Andrés Calamaro and Moroccan musician Aziz Sahmaoui (l’Orchestre National de Barbès), among others.
Then came Paz, an album in which Niño Josele ventured into jazz, which is another of his longtime passions, inspired by Bill Evans. He discovered the American musician through Bebo Valdés, and with the help of famed Spanish movie director Fernando Trueba (who chose the repertoire) and Javier Limón, and established jazz and flamenco musicians such as Estrella Morente, Jerry González, Freddy Cole, Marc Johnson, Horacio El Negro Hernández, Joe Lovano, Tom Harrell, and Javier Colina, he recorded an iconic album.
La Venta del Alma came out in 2009. The compilation album included flamenco and jazz cuts.
Española (2009) is an instrumental album, without any vocals. Guitars were recorded live, without edits. Guests included Ralph Bowen, Papo Vazquez, Jhon Benitez and legendary bassist Phil Woods. “Española” was presented in 2009 at the Village Vanguard in New York City, featuring Jhon Benitez and Ralph Bowen.
In 2012, Niño Josele released El Mar de mi ventana, a flamenco album with Paco de Lucía, Tomatito, Duquende, Carles Benavent and siblings José Enrique Morente, Estrella Morente and Soleá Morente. The album included a buleria as a tribute to Chick Corea: “A mi compadre Antonio.”
In 2013, he released Niño Josele & Cobla Sant Jordi Live at the Kursaal Theater Ciutat de Barcelona. Also that year, Chick Corea released Trilogy. Niño Josele appeared on two tracks, “My foolish heart” and “Spain”.
In 2014, Niño Josele recorded two duo projects. Chano & Josele (2014), together with flamenco-jazz pianist Chano Dominguez. It included Brazilian songs from Jobim and Pixinguinha, along with compositions by Michel Legrand and Henry Mancini. The second project was a collaboration with Estrella Morente titled Amar en paz. The album featured iconic Brazilian songs.
For several years, Niño Josele toured with Chick Corea as part of Chick Corea & Spanish Heart Band. Their album Antidote won a Latin Jazz Grammy in 2019.
Throughout his prolific career, Niño Josele also recorded music for film. In 2011, he recorded the soundtrack for the film “Black, Brown, White” by director Erwin Wagenhofer, and in 2013 he wrote music for the film “Pensé que iba a ver fiesta” directed by Victoria Galardi, composing and performing unpublished songs: “Vicky”, “El grande” and “Amara”.
Galaxias was released in 2022. The recording includes his final collaboration with Chick Corea (who passed away in 2021). Notably, Niño Josele combined flamenco, jazz, and salsa. Indeed, Galaxias also features salsa star Rubén Blades.
Discography:
Calle Ancha (1995)
El Sorbo, with Javier Limon (BMG, 2001)
Los Piratas del flamenco (2002)
Niño Josele (BMG, 2003)
Paz (Calle 54, 2006)
Española (DRO, 2009)
La Venta del Alma (DRO, 2009)
El Mar De Mi Ventana (DRO, 2012)
Niño Josele & Cobla Sant Jordi Live at the Kursaal Theater Ciutat de Barcelona (2013)
Chano & Josele with Chano Dominguez (Calle 54, 2014)
Amar en paz (2014)
Antidote, with Chick Corea & Spanish Heart Band (2019)
Galaxias (2022)
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.
Updated biography and discography.