The Members of Crossroads are:
Esther Weekes – Jazz/Blues Singer and Flamenco Dancer
Pablo Pradas – Flamenco Guitarist
Demi Garcia Sabat – Percussionist and Drummer
Heralding from Seville, Barcelona and London, Crossroads captures the soul and mystery of Flamenco, channels it through that ever changing phenomenon we know as Jazz and adorns it with a dance form which merges the spirit of Andalusia with the rhythm of swing.
The multicultural nature of Crossroads allows distinct audiences to cross their own cultural borders to explore new musical territories, with musical pieces and songs ranging from originals to standards, in English and Spanish from Jazz to Flamen-
co.
This versatility enables Crossroads to fit into a broad range of musical and cultural circuits from Jazz clubs to Flamenco tablaos, from World music festivals to Dance spectaculars.
Crossroads History
As the London based arm of Jazzolea, Crossroads has had the honour of performing in the following venues and festivals within Spain and Europe:
ICAS – Distrito de las Artes 2013 – 2015
Festival Fusion Contemporanea, La Rabida Huelva 2013
Festival Sherry, Jerez de la Frontera, 2013
Pena Flamenca de la UPO – Charla/Concierto – “Jazz, Blues, Flamenco y La Conexión Escondida” 2014
Festival Jazz Flamenco en Ronda, Bodega Descalzos Viejos 2014
Jazz Corner, Sevilla 2014
III Jornadas de Puertas Abiertas Centro de Adultos Poligono Sur XXXV Aniversario
ICAS Festival Arte Solidario, Jardines de la Buhaira, Sevilla 2015
Teatro – Centro Cultural San Juan Bautista, Madrid 2015
El Plaza Jazz Club, Madrid 2015
Sala Clamores, Madrid 2015
Los Jardines de la Buhaira, Sevilla 2015
Festival Osuna – Casa de la Cultura 2015
Santa Pura Beach Club, La Antilla, Huelva 2015
Museo del Baile Flamenco, Sevilla – 2013-2015
Brindisa Food Rooms, London – 2016
’t Ey Belsele, Belgium – 2016
Zuidpand Roeselare, Belgium – 2016
CC De Grote Post Oostende, Belgium – 2016
Esther Weekes – Flamenco Dancer and Jazz Singer
Born in London, Esther is as much involved in the world of music as in the world of dance.
Both a singer-songwriter and a flamenco dancer, she has studied and performed in Spain for
the last 12 years. Esther currently resides
in Seville.
As a jazz and blues singer, Esther has taken part in a wide range of concerts
and festivals in Spain, such as the “Festival de Blues de San Fernando”, the “Fes-
tival de Blues en Antequera”, the “Festival de Blues en Granada” and the “Festi-
val de Blues de la Alpujarra” in Bustaquista, to name a few.
She has collaborated with noted artists such as Raimundo Amador and Lolo Ortega. She was the principal singer in the Puretones Blues band, the Lolo Ortega Blues Band and the Esther Weekes Trio and resident singer and flamenco dancerfor the flamenco fusion band El Nombre. She has also sang jazz for the noted flamenco dancers Andrés Peña and Pilar Ogalla in Jerez Flamenco Festival 2012 in VillamartaTheatre and Muestra Flamenco 2013 in Teatro Central.
Esther has studied flamenco dance for 11 years in Madrid, Granada and Seville under the guidance of “Maestros” such as the late, great Mario Maya, Eva Yerbabuena, Farruquito, Manuel Betanzos, Cristobal Reyes, La Tati, Belen Fernandez, Andrés Peña, Juan de Los Reyes, Adela Campallo amongst others.
Possessing the unique capacity to both sing jazz and dance flamenco, Esther is a pioneer in the jazz- flamenco movement. In this capacity she has performed in various festivals in Spain such as the “Festival Internacional de Flamenco” in Sanlucar de Barrameda, the “Congreso Nacional de Sociólogos y Politicologos” in Carmona”, the “Festival de blues de Antequera”,the festival “Fusión Contemporanea” in Huelva and the “Festival de Sherry” in Jerez”. Each year she has top billing in the “Festival de Las Naciones”. Esther has also had the honour of participating in “La Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla 2010 y 2012” one of the leading flamenco festivals in the world.
She was singer and dancer with the flamenco fusion group “El Nombre” and with the jazz-flamenco trio, “Yacara”, she has performed in festivals and concert halls around Andalusia including the noted Teatro Quintero. In 2015 she began her first song writing project with celebrated Dutch flamenco guitarist, Tino Van der Sman, later forming the group Lucky Eye.
Born in Seville in 1977 into a flamenco family, Pablo s guitar studies began at the tender age of 10 when he would accompany his father, Jose Parrondo, a Cantaor (flamenco singer), as a guitarist. He would also work as a guitar accompanist with other noted singers such as Juan Calero Moya and Quiqui of Castiblanco.
As his interest in music evolved and expanded, he began to develop a taste for “electric sounds”. This lead to his pursuing a parallel career as a studio session musician working with artists such as Matt Bianco, Marismeños, Maria jimenez, Martyr, Jarcha, Hispalis Choir and many more.
Pablo also has a wide variety of experience as a flamenco dance accompanist touring with companies such as the Maria Serrano Flamenco Company, Puerto Flamenco and the company of Antonio Andrade y Ursula Moreno.
Recent work has positioned Pablo as an integral part of the Trassierra Project, an experimental flamenco trio. Accompanying Eduardo Trassierra and Andrei Vjicic, he tours in jazz festivals such as the Pittsburg, Amberes or Mont de Marsan festivals.
Demi Garcia Sabat – Percussionist
Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Demi moved to the UK in 1999 to pursue his lifelong ambition of becoming a professional musician. He studied at London College of Music. Demi has worked as a freelance percussionist and drummer, specialising in Flamenco, Jazz, Latin and Arabic music. He performs regularly with a number of artists Alec Dankworth, Chris Garrick, Jorge Bravo, Nicolas Meier, Lizzie Ball, Tito Heredia, Kuljit Bhamra, Melange, Last summer’s tearlights, La Tipica, Flamenco Soul, Tormenta flamenca, Crossroads Flamenco Blues, Karama, La Xula… with music ranging from the traditional to the more exprimental.
Demi’s breadth of experience has allowed him to collaborate in projects fusing flamenco/latin styles with many other genres, including jazz, arabic music and pop.