Gecko Turner

Gecko Turner
Gecko Turner live
Background information
Birth name	Fernando Gabriel Echave Pelaez
Also known as	Geko Turner
Born	1966 Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain
Genres	bossa nova, soul, funk, reggae, jazz, electronica
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer-songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1984 – present
Labels	Lovemonk, Quango, Argus Records
Website	geckoturner.com

Gecko Turner (born Fernando Gabriel Echave Pelaez, 1966) is a Spanish musician and singer-songwriter. Based near the border between Spain and Portugal, he has fronted several bands in his native Spain. Guapapasea, his first CD released in the U.S., incorporates bossa nova, soul, funk, reggae, jazz and electronica.

Gecko Turner grew up in Spain, learning English from the blues artists he loved. After a long musical journey, he started composing in a style that combined jazz, blues, samba, reggae, hip-hop, and more into something all his own. Journalists in Spain dubbed it 'Afromeño' (rough translation: African and Extremeño, being Extremadura the region where he comes from), but the sound owes as much to North and South America, the Caribbean and Europe, as it does to Africa. All of his work has been published by Lovemonk Records, in cd and vinyl. Also, Californian label Quango Music Group has published in the United States an American edition of the album “Guapapaséa”, as well as several singles.

Gecko Turner (born Fernando Gabriel Echave Pelaez) was raised in Badajoz, Spain, a small town about halfway between Lisbon and Madrid. As a teenager he fell in love with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan, as well as soaking up the international and Spanish music he heard on the radio. Hearing the Stones sent him on a quest for the music that inspired Jagger and company, and he discovered Elmore James, Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Big Joe Turner, and other blues artists. He taught himself guitar in his teens and formed a band to cover American and British pop from The Kinks to David Bowie, Talking Heads to James Brown. In his late teens, Turner discovered jazz, finding a special affinity for the Afro-Cuban sounds of Dizzy Gillespie. He hitched all over Spain to follow Gillespie on tour, listening to bebop and reading Jack Kerouac. At 20 he moved to London and busked in tube stations with a borrowed guitar. He did not make much money, but learned how to grab a crowd's attention. He also soaked up London's jazz scene. He returned to Badajoz for his mother's funeral, got married, and took a job in a bank, working nights so he did not have to cut his hair or take out his earrings. When his wife died after a long illness, Turner quit the bank and went back to music full-time.