February 10, 2018, Saturday, 7:00 PM

Canyon Community Center, 126 Lion Blvd, Springdale, UT

Admission is $10.00 per person for Z-Arts members and $15.00 per person for non-members, cash or check only please, at the door, prior to the performance.

Robert Earl Longley, also known as Robby, is a world-class level guitarist and symphonic composer from New Orleans. From childhood, Robert’s talent for music was fostered by his parents who exposed him to the inescapable influence of jazz and blues from nearby New Orleans along with the classical composers and such guitar artists as Carlos Montoya, Chet Atkins, Paco de Lucia and Julian Bream. As an adolescent, Robert found himself further inspired by the groundbreaking keyboard virtuosity of Keith Emerson who, ironically, claimed to have been inspired by the guitar work of Pete Townsend and Jimmy Hendrix. This music sounds Spanish, but it is not straight flamenco. It could have been lifted out of a classical film score, but it wasn’t. Its polyrhythmic improvisations are jazz-like, but it is not straight ahead Jazz. Original compositions are available on nine CDs. In addition, Robert composed two powerful soundtracks for films that screened at the Sundance Film Festival. In his concert material, Robert’s fingerstyle techniques on the flamenco guitar always deliver fresh, sophisticated Third Stream-like jazzy melodies within classically inspired movements rather than producing traditional flamenco music as one would expect.

Mr. Longley will also perform a demonstration at the Springdale Elementary School on February 9 at 12:30 PM.

 

Support for this event provided by the Western States Arts Federation.

 

This project is supported by Utah Arts and Museums, with funding from the State of Utah and the National Endowment for the Arts .

Support for this event provided by The National Endowment for the Arts - Art Works

Z-Arts would also like to thank Flanigan’s Inn for providing accommodations to the artist.