Esteban Music From the Heart at Shimmer Cabaret

ESTEBAN, WITH TERESA JOY (aka STEVE AND HIS DAUGHTER) … SIMPLY FABULOUS!
OK, so last night (1÷12÷13) we went to the Las Vegas Hotel (formerly the LV Hilton) to see Estaban, someone we had barely heard of and only fleetingly seen years ago in some goofy infomercials for videotaped guitar lessons, complete with a «man in black» Johnny Cash-​esque outfit.
He was accompanied by some violinist named Teresa Joy, whom we had never heard of. We went with high hopes, but somewhat lowered expectations, due to lack of familiarity.
OMG!!! What a show! Estaban (born Stephen Paul, in Pittsburg, PA) and his daughter, Teresa, were incredible!
Through unshakeable persistence in the early 70’s, Steve had become a masters class student of Andres Segovia in Spain, who called him by his Spanish name, Estaban (later came the trademark ponytail, black hat, black outfit, dark shades). After years of study he was personally endorsed by Segovia, and began touring back in the States.
Tragically, in 1979 he was badly maimed in a car wreck caused by a drunk driver, losing sight in one eye, and the use of his left arm and hand. He was incapable of playing, but after a decade of struggle was able to rehabilitate himself and learn to play once again.
Today he plays with such speed, power, passion and virtuosity that you’d never imagine that he had been so badly injured. He’s a towering testament to tenacity.
He packed his performance with music from a number of genres, from classical, pop, Middle Eastern, gypsy and flamenco, to rock and roll. It was 75 minutes of non-​stop, high energy, very heartfelt music, including a touching rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star that was a big hit.
His triple-​tune finale was fabulous (two Beatles tunes and his trademark Del Shannon, Runaway) had us all clapping, cheering, stomping, whistling and howling for more.
We met Estaban and Teresa after the show, bought a couple of CDs, and enjoyed a brief chat as he happily signed a photo and both CDs. He’s the «real deal,» genuinely enjoying sharing his music with others and interacting with fans.
Which we both now are, in spades!
Dean Herrington

I have to say that that initially I felt as if I was in a bad segment of «America’s Got Talent» episode as Esteban hit the stage with his dark sunglasses and his hat pushed low over his face and his guitar slung across his chest. I expected a deep, Latin American accent when he spoke as I never heard him before, but no go… the guys from Philly! So what changed?
I really believe that Esteban and Therese Joy, his electric violin playing/​dancing daughter wanted to entertain us with their heart and soul… thus bringing the title of their show «Music from the Heart» to life. They gave it their all and there was something very genuine and heartfelt about them. Some of the music was really inspiring and some fell flat, but they consistently kept belting it out, Therese Joy was dancing while playing the violin in multiple genres with costume changes as well as Esteban tried to weave in a cultural element of music throughout history.
Afterwards, the two came out front and were extremely gracious in greeting the crowd, taking pictures, answering questions and signing autographs. All-​in-​all, an entertaining evening!

I saw Esteban once before at the Suncoast and I had the chance to see him again this week. Performing with his daughter – who plays the violin and also a few percussion instruments – the two make a great duo.
The show, Music From the Heart, is a group of love songs for the most part. Besame Mucho, the love theme from the movie «Romeo and Juliet,» And I Love Her and the list goes on. There tends to be a formula to the songs. Esteban starts slow with his playing and is later joined by his daughter. Sometime during the song, the two up tempo the number and really give their strings a workout. Then, the temps slows and the song comes to a quiet and unhurried end.
The show is just about an hour and a half in the Shimmer Showroom at the LVH. It’s an intimate venue and there are no bad seats. The show is good enough that I’m going again with a friend from out of town next week. They are good!

I took my 8 year old son to this show because he was interested in learining to play the guitar. All I know of Esteban is that he has instructional dvd’s at a lot of stores. Until I saw him perform, I did not realize just how great he was on the guitar. He is truly a master of his craft.
As an added bonus, he had his daughter, Teresa Joy accompanying him with her Violin. Not only is she a master of that, but she has chimes with cowbells and a small cymbal. As her father plays the lead instrumentals she plays the lyrics. I never new a guitar and a violin would sound so good together.
Romeo and Juliet, Besame Mucho, And I Love Her, and Love Me Tender were some of the classics they played. Until I heard these two artists play these songs, I have found a whole new appreciation for this style of music. To their credit, from beginning to end, they did not take one single break except for in between songs.
Overall, if you are planning to bring your significant other to this, I would say it is a perfect date night type of situation. As for my son, he was definitely inspired and as of right now he is enjoying the beginning of his guitar lessons. I dont think there can be any other better way to start lessons than watching a true master like Esteban.