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Bulerias de Jerez?
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Jon Boyes
Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
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 RE: Bulerias de Jerez? (in reply to Phil)
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I was about to start a thread on Bulerias, but my question is kind of related. I hope Phil doesn't mind me taking this off at a a tangent...
Ok, last night I fired up Flamenco Master in order to try out some bulerias material. I had a few falsetas that I wanted to try out and see if it all held together in compas. I quickly discovered that playing single falsetas on their own is a different ball game to trying to fit them together with ras and keep the whole thing in compas!
I chose the Bulerias type that starts on count 12, with accents on 12, 3, 6, 8, 10. After a while and a little head scratching, I managed to get a good rasgueado groove going in compas, the usual A-Bb changes, and that cool linking pattern that PDL does that goes Adim-Bb-C9-Gm-A (listen to Cepa Andaluz if my description is lacking!). Ok, so far so good, now I try and throw in a falseta. It seems Ok, but when I get to the end it is obvious that I am in the wrong place in the compas. The key, presumably, is to sit down and work out exactly what beat *that* particular falseta should begin on, I guess? .. and different falsetas may start on different beats, yes?
My main question is this - how do you guys go about putting together a bulerias, in terms of the counting and where the falsetas start? In other words, when you are playing through a complete bulerias, are you counting in your mind 12,1,2,3,4,5,6... endlessly and slotting in the falsetas where they should go, or do you 'feel' where they should start ie you do not think consciously, it just happens because you have played it so often?
Hope that makes sense!
Jon
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Date Nov. 11 2003 9:27:34
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Ron.M
Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland
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RE: Bulerias de Jerez? (in reply to Phil)
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Phil,
Using only my ears to judge, and talking about the guitar only (for I have no knowledge of cante), I feel it's to do with the "sound".
The falsetas I hear the Jerez guitarists play tend to be a lot more "primitive" and punctuated.
The rhythm is heavy and you get the feeling that each beat of the compás has it's own characteristic and flavour, and is treated with enormous respect.
A lot of (non Jerez style) Bulerias I hear seem to have a happy, even frivolous "Fin de Fiesta" kind of feeling.
Sure, the guitar style of Tomatito on the profound Bulerias of Camaron on his "Live" CD certainly sounds very "Gitano" (ie no nonsense) but still doesn't sound "Jerez" to me.
When (via Ondajerez) I watch some of the performers in the various peñas there I get the impression that Bulerias is very much treated as "their thing".
Everybody gives each other knowing looks and glances and seem very much "together".
I love the way that when the guitarist plays an "oldie, but goldie" falseta from the distant past, everyone will shout and cheer and practically hold their breath on the run up to the final heavy "10" count.
Almost like some kind of quasi Religious experience.
You get the feeling that if you had to play a fancy Tomatito or VA falseta in that situation, they would throw you out as some sort of heretic! LOL!
Sure many guitarists all over Spain use little bits of that Jerez sound in their playing, so it all kind of gets mixed up.
I think that Jerez style is perhaps misleading, but Jerez "sound" is probably more meaningful.
Just my thoughts!
Ron
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Date Nov. 11 2003 9:58:35
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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RE: Bulerias de Jerez? (in reply to Guest)
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Andy, there are no chords peculiar to Jerez. There's an approach, a feel, a subtle way of managing the compás, but no cante or chord, and certainly no palmas that say "Jerez"! Anyone who says otherwise is an overzealous workshop-giver wanting to appear necessary. Then you say Miguel Poveda recorded bulerias de Jerez without guitar but that it's "a style of accompaniment" (?). Poveda recorded bulerias without guitar because that's common at fiestas, and Diego Carrasco set a minor fad in motion when he recorded a lengthy bulerias without guitar.
I think you're confusing contemporary chord changes, particularly as used by Moraíto, with a Jerez style. If you need to use the term "bulería de Jerez" take it to mean "bulerías cortas" as opposed to cuple, because that's the extent of its meaning among artists and aficionados. In Jerez they might take the tempo a bit faster, but even that's not necessarily a constant.
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Nov. 12 2003 4:35:08
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Phil
Posts: 382
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Rota, Spain
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RE: Bulerias de Jerez? (in reply to Phil)
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Estela,quote:
As far as I’m concerned, “bulerías de Jerez” is a meaningless term, something you see on record covers. Imagine a singer saying “now I’m going to sing bulerías de Jerez”...it’s ridic.
I thank everyone for their input, but I have to agree with Estela. I have to add that 99% of the live Flamenco that I hear is by Jerez Flamencos due to the proximity of Jerez to where I live and, of course, the sheer number of performers that come from Jerez. So maybe I'm not hearing enough of other Buleria styles, but just a couple of weeks ago I heard some people from Cadiz and I didn't notice any tremendous difference in the Bulerias that they performed. I tend to agree with Ron that it's more of a sound, a feeling, a way of punctuating that distinguishes the way the Jerez guitarists play Bulerias and not any particular chords or major differences in the compas.
Right now I'm listening to La Niña de los Peines sing a Bulerias accompanied by Melchor de Marchena. It's pretty old, but it certainly has the Dm and the C7 to F changes, and Melchor definitely had a different style of accompanying than the typical Jerezano has. Is it a Bulerias de Jerez, Utrera, or Lebrija? I honestly have no earthly idea, but would it suddenly become a Buleria de Jerez if Morao was playing instead of Melchor? Would it become a Bulerias de Morón if Paco del Gastor was playing? It would most certainly have a different feel and sound, but I would say no, because the guitar accompaniment is never a factor in labeling a cante style. And that was the point of my original question. (Plus, I wanted to stir things up a little.  )
Thanks again to those that responded. It looks like several of us are going to have to agree to disagree. 
Phil
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Date Nov. 13 2003 0:58:26
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Guest
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RE: Bulerias de Jerez? (in reply to Guest)
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Andy, the aire of Jerez bulerias is famous for being fast. There a well-known verse sung all over Andalucia:
No quiero cantar en Jerez
porque tocan mu' deprisa
y yo me podia perder
(I don't want to sing in Jerez because they play so fast I might get lost).
More important than geographical differences are the fashions that come and go. Bulerias used to always be fast (in general) and is now always slow by comparison (in general).
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Nov. 13 2003 16:09:48
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Guest
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RE: Bulerias de Jerez? (in reply to Guest)
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There is no such thing as "Jerez chord changes". Moraito has some unusual things, Cepero has his peculiarities, Gerardo, Perico del Lunar...all jerezanos and all individualistic, within the same framework. It's not an opinion but a demonstrable fact.
You may be talking to people from Jerez who have been away for several years. Things are changing very fast these days...me and Phil speak the same language because we're here all the time.
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Nov. 13 2003 16:13:57
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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RE: Bulerias de Jerez? (in reply to Guest)
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I've been away for two weeks so please excuse the delay in responding to this very interesting discussion.
Andy, there are several issues becoming confused. With very rare exceptions falsetas cannot be identified by their place of origin (Moron is the glaring exception that proves the rule). What your friends are doing is what we all do...you recognize a Morao falseta for example and say "that's Jerez", or a Marote falseta and say "that's Granada". Recordings are always easy to identify because there are so many indicators...Jerez usually has raucous jaleo and even the voices shouting are identifiable, in particular Bo with his shout of "HOO-YA!" which always reminds me of Al Pacino from Scent of a Woman.
Regarding relative tempos, I have to say you are wrong. Remember we're speaking in generalizations. Moron for example is famous for veeeery slow bulerias. But where can you hear the fastest bulerias known to mankind? In Moron, both on recordings and live. Nevertheless, Moron is the place they do very slow bulerias, never Jerez and seldom Utrera (to speak of Sevilla doesn't say much because there's no cohesive style).
As far as "accusing", that's the national pastime...Jerezanos say "up north" they can't do bulerias, too fast, too slow, no compas, too much cuple... In Utrera and other pueblos of Seville province where there's cante, cantaores they say in Jerez everyone sounds the same, boring compas, no personality and much too fast. Look at what Tomas de Perrate explained about Utrera tempos in the conference he gave last June in France, and which is online at http://www.deflamenco.com/articulos/verArticuloi.jsp?codigo=FLA%7C579:
"Regarding the cante of bulerías, it would seem that any group turns it into a fiesta with a certain tendency to accelerate the rhythm, but in Utrera however the rhythm takes on a certain solemnity, resisting the roller-coaster effect and enjoying a laidback, easy acceleration."
Utrera bulerias represents 'Sevilla style bulerias' because of the many famous bulerias singers the town has produced: Bambino, Bernarda, Enrique Montoya, Perrate, Gaspar de Utrera, Pepa de Utrera, Ines de Utrera, Turronero... All these singers recorded and were imitated by younger artists. It is because of this "school" Sevilla is known for the laidback rhythm of its bulerias.
And if that doesn't convince you, then take my word, when I go to Jerez I'm in big trouble if I forget to use my 'alkaline batteries' to sing at fiestas...the contrast is always a little shock the first few minutes...and it's always so soothing to return "north".
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Nov. 26 2003 18:06:53
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Guest
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RE: Bulerias de Jerez? (in reply to Phil)
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Really interesting reading all your professional comments (even though the guitar technology is way over my head) A question poses itself:
If a pub pianist in Manchester plays a Vienese waltz does that make it a Manchester waltz, or a London waltz if the Royal Philarmonic plays it? Or does it just stay a Vienese
waltz with a different personal rendition? Just asking (((-:
Jim.
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Date Nov. 26 2003 20:29:26
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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RE: Bulerias de Jerez? (in reply to Ron.M)
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quote:
I still sort of instictively feel that there is a certain Jerez "sound" from various things I've heard over the years.
Certain markers remind us of Jerez..."Me voy con mi mare Manuela" for example is only sung by Jerez singers...there's also a compas they sometimes use for bulerias in Jerez that I've never heard *anywhere* else, particularly when there's no guitar:
TWELVE one two three four five SIX seven eight nine ten eleven
Jerez singers dip into major key quite often because of the Cadiz influence, the guitar-playing is crisp and 'demanding'...there are dozens of little things, some of which have become universal, and others which never left town.
The Capullo clip is moderate to slow for Jerez, but moderate to fast for Sevilla-Utrera singers. No one uses the same tempo *all* the time so we're only talking about tendencies.
Look at fiestas for a moment...it's common for fiestas to last in Utrera for a day and a half, two days or even more...and there might easily be nothing but bulerias, but you don't stop to think "hey....all they're singing is bulerias!". The tendency towards laidback compas means you can sing many more things and project a wider range of emotions, from deliriously gay to downright solemn. As famous as Jerez is for bulerias, I haven't seen all-bulerias fiestas, and suspect it could get boring (but don't anyone say I said that 
What I mentioned in another message, about the jaleo, is an important difference that's easy to overlook. Jerez has made an art of jaleo, and people like Gregorio, Chicharito, Bo and many others make a decent living as professional jaleo-givers. This is a fairly recent development, but the highly steroidal synchronated jaleo and palmas have become a constant. You don't often see that kind of backup outside Jerez. All these things contribute to a Jerez 'aire'.
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Nov. 26 2003 21:46:55
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), several people talk about Bulerias de Jerez as if it were a very distinct and readily identifiable from of Bulerias. Could someone please tell me what characteristics it has that distinguish it from any other style Bulerias? What really confuses me is that they are talking about the guitar and not necessarily about the cante. I may be totally wrong, but to me there is no difference as far as the guitar is concerned. There is certainly a different ‘aire’ in the way they’re played in Jerez as opposed to Morón, for example, but to me a Bulerias is a Bulerias. There are Bulerias played in the phrygian mode; in major and minor keys; cuplé, which can be anything that can be sung; but what is a Bulerias de Jerez? Can anyone set me straight on this? 
