Jose Feliciano

Since the 1970’s, Jose Feliciano has been a huge presence in the music world. His playing style is completely unique in that it blends percussive flamenco with classical techniques and the speed and improvisational skills of a jazz player. And all of this is going on while he’s singing!  What a voice! If one of his songs comes on the radio you know who it is by the second word. Nobody else sounds like that.

Jose, born in Puerto Rico, is the youngest of eleven children and is the only member of the family to become a musician and famous.  Even as a child of six, he would just sit around all day playing his guitar and singing.

Jose’s "Light My Fire" album was number one in the United States and he has had many other hits as well.  His own Christmas composition, "Feliz Navidad," is now a holiday standard. He has turned out English and Spanish albums by the score and has been nominated Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year more times than he has wall space to celebrate with.

When Kirk met Jose, the talk naturally turned to guitars. Jose, primarily a nylon string player, expressed his interest in a special guitar. He wanted "more" out of his instrument. More sound, a faster neck, bigger bass. The guitar design that grew out of that conversation was to become the Jose’ Feliciano model: a nylon string guitar with a jumbo body, a thin top braced so that the bass really boomed, and a thin profile neck. The finished guitar was exactly as described and Kirk had himself his first endorser. Jose was so happy with his Sand Guitar that he played it almost exclusively. Eventually, Kirk made him another guitar, this time with a cutaway for more comfortable access to the higher frets.  Jose also owns a Sand classical electric.

Kirk and Jose had become very good friends, spending time together both at the Guitar Shoppe and at Jose’s home when he lived in Southern California. The Feliciano family moved to Connecticut about ten years ago, but we still enjoy very much turning on the television and finding Jose playing his Sand Guitar.