Gipsy Kings Still the Crown Princes of World Music

How many guitar players does it take to get a Hollywood Bowl crowd to their feet? Seven, if they’re the Gipsy Kings. And on Saturday night the body-moving rhythms of the veteran ensemble would have filled the aisles with dancers if the fire marshals hadn’t intervened.

Nothing new about that, of course. Since the release of their self-titled debut U.S. album on Elektra in the late ‘80s, the Gipsy Kings have been a dominant force in the world music market, purveying their rumba flamenca, a style rich with guitars, flamenco-tinged vocals (by Nicolas Reyes) and surging rhythms.

Saturday was no exception. Backed by a rhythm section consisting of drums, bass, keyboards and two percussionists, the group cruised through a set of Gipsy King hits, tossing in an occasional unfamiliar item, and featuring Reyes in a rendering of “My Way” that took the song back to its French origin.

Despite the overflow crowd’s clamoring response to the full ensemble’s driving rhythms, some of the more appealing moments of the performance took place during an essentially unplugged set at the start of the program’s second half.

Working without their heavily amplified rhythm back-up, the Kings--who are members of the Reyes and Baliardo families from the gypsy community of Arles and Montpelier in the south of France--revealed the passionate, interactive roots sound that is the foundation of their music.