Jaxon Williams Records Pieces By Spanish Composers and Gives The World Premiere Of A Piece by Josh Thompson.

We've published five new videos by Jaxon Williams, a classical guitarist and a member of a Jâca - a clarinet and guitar duet with Wesley Ferreira.

Jaxon graduated from the University of Southern California, where he earned his doctorate degree in the class of William Kanengiser and Scott Tennant. While at USC, he also took flamenco lessons with Adam del Monte. Before pursuing his doctorate degree, Jaxon also studied in Spain as a Fulbright scholar. 

During his recent recording session at GSI, Jaxon recorded four pieces by iconic Spanish composers from different periods of time and gave the World Premiere of a composition written by his former guitar teacher, Josh Thompson.

In the first video, you can hear Jaxon's interpretation of "Rondeña" by Regino Sainz de la Maza (1896-1981). Originally published in 1962, this piece is written in a flamenco form that derives from fandango. The title can be somehow misleading, as it doesn't refer to the musical form of Rondo, but rather to Ronda, a small town in Southern Spain. The guitar featured in the video is a 1995 Paulino Bernabe CD/CSAR (ex Marc Teicholz).

The next is "Bolero" by Spanish guitarist and composer, Julián Arcas (1832-1882) who was also the teacher of the young Francisco Tárrega. Bolero is a traditional Spanish dance that derives from seguidilla. It's in a 3/4 meter and became popular in 18th-19th century Spain. The guitar used in the video is a 2023 Wolfgang Jellinghaus "1912 Ex-Segovia" SP/GR.

Jaxon also recorded two timeless compositions by Isaac Albéniz. "Sevilla" and "Granada (Serenata)" are two pieces from "Suite Española Op. 47" - Albéniz's masterpiece in which each piece is dedicated to a different region of Spain (and Cuba in the last movement). The videos were recorded on a 1927 Hermann Hauser I SP/MP and 2023 Darragh O'Connell CD/IN.

The final video from this recording session features the world premiere of a composition by Jaxon's childhood teacher and mentor, Joseph Thompson. The composition is titled "Vals Trágico" and was dedicated to Jaxon. The guitar featured in the video is a 2007 Paul Fischer "Premier Taut" SP/CSAR.