By JESSE BERTEL
Across the Street

Esteban has topped the Billboard charts many times with his numerous albums, videos and DVD’s, and has had first-time music history successes never before accomplished by any guitarist. Esteban studied with Master Andres Segovia, a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. His daughter, Teresa Joy, a violinist who grew up on Esteban’s music, often performs with him.

They both spoke with Across the Street staff ahead of their upcoming performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at the Crystal Hall on the 3rd floor of the Elks Performing Arts Center, 117 E. Gurley St. Prescott. The following interview was edited for length and clarity.

How did you start performing together?

Esteban: I’ve been playing guitar my whole life, and my daughter, when I saw her beautiful fingers as a little baby, I said, “this girl is destined for violin.” So, she started when she was five. She’s been playing ever since and just loving it. As soon as my daughter was able to play in my band, like when she was 11 or 12, we made our first album together. It was a beautiful Christmas album.

Is there anything challenging about playing together?

Esteban: It’s not difficult. It’s magical because when you take the heart from me and the heart from this daughter of mine who’s just incredible, you put that together on a stage, people go crazy. They feel the love and they also feel the excitement.

Teresa Joy: When I first started, I think he expected me to be on a level I wasn’t at because he was such a high level, but I’m tenacious and I just moved through it, you know, because the reward was so much greater than the challenge. We do a lot of improvising. I follow my dad a lot, so I think if anything, the challenge for me now would be I want to move us even to a greater level of our musical communication. I’ve been following my dad for my whole life, you know, on stage I support him and I follow him and while that is an incredible result, we’re getting to the point where we are going to be starting a new project in a studio here in Prescott, where we get together and we do more of a collab.

What do you enjoy most abou playing together?

Teresa Joy: The best part about playing together, for me, is the space that we create for each other to express.

Esteban: It’s pure magic up there when we play together. Every time we do a concert, we’re doing things we’ve never done before. When you see that spontaneity and feel that spontaneity between us, the audience feels it and they just love it. So, the result is just a lovely, lovely manifestation of connection and love between me and my daughter.

For more information about Esteban, visit www.estebanmusic.com.

Jesse Bertel is a reporter/videographer for the Prescott News Network. Follow him on Twitter @ JesseBertel, email him at jbertel@prescottaz.com, or call 928-445-3333, ext. 2043.