Ted McKown collection of Flamenco sound recordings
Finding aid prepared by Eric Milenkiewicz, Manuscripts Curator.
Special Collections & University Archives
The UCR Library
P.O. Box 5900
University of California
Riverside, California 92517-5900
Phone: 951-827-3233
Fax: 951-827-4673
Email: specialcollections@ucr.edu
URL: http://library.ucr.edu/libraries/special-collections-university-archives
© 2016
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Ted McKown collection of Flamenco sound recordings
Date: circa 1969, undated
Collection Number: MS 394
Creator:
McKown, Ted
Extent:
0.42 linear feet
(1 box)
Extent:
6 Reels
6 reels of audio tape
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Abstract: This collection contains unique sound recordings of Diego del Gastor, Donn Pohren, and several other guitarists and singers
who gathered and performed at locales in and around Morón de la Frontera, Spain. These performances were recorded by Ted McKown,
a performer and teacher of classical and Flamenco guitar from the United States, during his travels to Spain in the late
1960s. The collection includes the original tape reels and their derivatives in digital audio format.
Languages: The collection is in Spanish.
Access
This collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Ted McKown collection of Flamenco sound recordings (MS 394). Special Collections
& University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Ted McKown, 2014.
Processing History
Processed by Eric Milenkiewicz, Manuscripts Curator, 2016.
Biographical Note
Ted McKown was born in Arvin, California, on November 23, 1933, to Harry and Nola McKown. He had two older sisters, Mable
and Jessie. The family soon moved to Inglewood, California. During Ted's youth there, he formed a lifelong bond with his friends
in the barrio, where his interest in music was manifested in his profound attraction to the guitar. He began by listening
to romantic Latin American music. He didn't actually own a guitar, however, until after his army service during the Korean
War. After his discharge, he enrolled in the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and was eventually able to eke out a living
by teaching both classical and flamenco guitar and by playing in lounges. Teaching from home, he became so popular that at
times he had sixty or seventy students a week. He was also engaged as an accompanist, primarily through the Blanca Luz Flamenco
Ensemble in Buena Park, California. In 1969, he began traveling to Europe as an enhancement of his love for music, art, languages,
and cultures. It was during this time that he traveled throughout southern Spain making the acquaintance of many important
figures in the world of Flamenco music and recording several informal performances by Diego del Gastor, Donn Pohren, and other
well-known guitarists and singers of the time. These recordings provide an invaluable window into Flamenco music as they were
made in informal settings for the delectation of aficionados.
Biography by Walter Clark, Professor of Music at the University of California, Riverside
Collection Scope and Contents
This collection contains sound recordings of Diego del Gastor, Donn E. Pohren, Antonio Mairena, and several other guitarists
and singers who gathered and performed at locales in and around Morón de la Frontera, Spain. These performances were recorded
by Ted McKown during his travels to Spain in the late 1960s. The collection includes the original tape reels and their derivatives
in digital audio format.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically by sound recording title.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Mairena, Antonio
Pohren, D. E.
Gastor, Diego del, 1908-1973
Almeria (Spain)
Flamenco music
Guitarists
Moron de la Frontera (Spain)
Singers
Utrera (Spain)
Genres and Forms of Materials
Digital audio formats
Sound recordings
Tape reels
Box 1
Juerga at Donn E. Pohren's 'Finca Espartero' in the outskirts of Morón de la Frontera, Spain (sound recording) R11
1969
Box 1
Live recordings at Donn E. Pohren's 'Finca Espartero' in the outskirts of Morón de la Frontera, Spain (sound recording) R55
circa 1969
Box 1
Performance at Festival de Cante Jondo in Almería, Spain featuring Antonio Mairena - Tape 1 (sound recording) R53
1969 August 9
Box 1
Performance at Festival de Cante Jondo in Almería, Spain featuring Antonio Mairena - Tape 2 (sound recording) R54
1969 August 9
Box 1
Unidentified performance, possibly at private residence in Utrera, Spain (sound recording) R16
circa 1969
Box 1
Unknown Juerga at Donn E. Pohren's 'Finca Espartero' in the outskirts of Morón de la Frontera, Spain (sound recording) R19
circa 1969
Portrait of Ted McKown, black and white (digital image only)
undated
