Paul Magnussen -> RE: Old/new school explanation (Oct. 13 2019 18:22:06)
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In a nutshell: In the history of the flamenco guitar, there have been four massively influential figures: Ramón Montoya (1879–1949), Niño Ricardo (1904–1972), Sabicas (1912–1990) and Paco de Lucía (1947–2014). Montoya innovated technically and musically, borrowing techniques from the classical guitar and setting the style for the next several decades. Ricardo and Sabicas (creative though they were) basically followed in Montoya’s footsteps, in that Flamenco remained insulated from the revolutions that were transforming music outside Spain, such as Jazz, Rock and Pop. Lucía at first followed in Ricardo’s and Sabicas’s footsteps, but became interested in other styles — initially Bossa Nova, and then Jazz in general. The breakthrough came in 1974, when his rumba Entre dos aguas was released as a single and became a massive hit. He subsequently collaborated with the jazz guitarists Al di Meola and John McLaughlin, bringing a whole new audience to his music. The floodgates then opened, the record companies scenting marketable product and putting out a spate of “fusions”, of extremely variable quality. Flamenco itself did not remain immune to these innovations, with Lucía introducing new harmonies and syncopations as the mood took him. At the same time, guitarists in other styles started introducing superficial elements of Flamenco into their own creations. So this was the genesis of “New Flamenco”, which is a term that means different things to different people. You can pretty much chart the progress of the worthwhile stuff simply by working your way through Lucía’s recordings chronologically. At the other extreme, here’s an embittered review from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2TXC097X9YMIX/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B000001CBZ Hope this helps.
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