Ron.M -> RE: "NEW" FLAMENCO... (May 20 2005 20:26:06)
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I spent a few years in Brasil, maybe about 25 years ago and I must admit the music is very compelling. The Samba chords and progessions are something else. It definitely compared in substance and expression to Flamenco, but not quite. When I hear some of VA's stuff, I hear a lot of Samba...not Flamenco. You can turn Samba/Bossa Nova easily to Tangos...no sweat and if you are living in a predominantly "phrygian" environment, then it sounds "new" and "cool". But it's really just "Tangoized" Samba IMO. Bulerias also lend themselves easily to this treatment. The main idea is to play mucho Samba style chords and progressions, then after a few falsetas resolve into a traditional Flamenco cadence. The result? New, cool nuevo Flamenco. It sounded cool when I first heard it, but I must admit that in spite of some of the technical ability on show, the idea is getting a bit long in the tooth now IMO. Everybody does it now, even the struggling amateur with a couple of years playing under his belt. In short, that idea getting boring. Somebody started a thread on another forum about who would carry the torch from Paco de Lucia, who took that giant leap of imagination. Myself, I think there is maybe somebody, who is not listening to Paco and Tomatito and Vincente etc, but perhaps listening to Manuel Morao with Terremoto and thinking of a new way of exploring that feeling. If not then my feeling is that Flamenco Guitar will generally dissipate into Guitar in general, encompassing Jazz, Blues, Latin, Indo...etc. Flamenco guitar will be whatever you want it to be.... cheers Ron
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