BarkellWH -> RE: Flamenco @ TEDx Talks (Apr. 4 2017 18:25:35)
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If i'm not mistaken in Carlos period of time the solo guitar was not accepted as a stage worthy instrument yet and general public was not ready for a serious solo flamenco guitar concert yet (you could skip in a zambra or a granainas solo in a dance program but that was it as far as the general publics acceptance of solo flamenco guitar on stage was concerned). Carlos captured the audience and the stage by giving the illusion the whole flamenco pallet was happening in front of you and he used colorful spotlights to enhance the atmosphere. His efforts made the instrument salon(stage)fähig so in retrospect you could say he paved the way for later generations to shine as a solist on stage. What he could do very well were the popular folkloristic dances and songs. Carlos Montoya did not just pave the way for later generations to shine as soloists on stage, he himself shone on stage as a soloist. Carlos turned me on to flamenco guitar, first with his vinyl LP albums, and then on stage when he appeared in Phoenix, Arizona back in 1960. I think it was his LP albums that first hooked people, as they did me. Then, as in my case, knowing of Carlos via his LP recordings, you went to see him in concert when he appeared on stage. Shortly after discovering flamenco via Carlos Montoya, I discovered the magic of Sabicas. Sabicas was a contemporary with Carlos, but he did not often appear on the circuit. As I understand it, Sabicas had a phobia about flying, so he was very limited in the range of concerts he presented. Like Stephen, my good friend and guitar guru Paco de Malaga was the one who many years later introduced me to the real heavyweights of the flamenco guitar: Ramon Montoya, Nino Ricardo, (of course Sabicas), and Paco de Lucia. Nevertheless, I will always be grateful for Carlos Montoya's having introduced me to flamenco guitar in the first place in 1960. At the time, he had been playing the circuit for several years, and it opened up a completely new genre of music to me, one that I have loved ever since. Bill
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