Stoney -> RE: What do you think of Ottmar Liebert? (Nov. 13 2009 10:27:15)
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Wow, this is such a great thread and I just love the whole controversy. Here's my 2 cents. Note: I've heard some of the music the members here are capable of and I'm not nearly there at all, especially on my 80 Dollar mexican classical. If I played as well as some of you I'd probably slag Ottmar too. First off, Like many artists, Ottmar has just released WAY too much material that sounds the same as all his classic early recordings. The same could be said for Gypsy Kings. Let's however give credit where credit is due. Of all the "Nuevo Flameno" artists out there, at least Ottmar put down his pick and plays with his fingers. He has quite a solid right hand. If his style is not your cup of tea, so be it. Jesse Cook, Strunz and Farah, etc. etc. don't even bother. For that stuff I'd rather listen to Carlos Santana. If you check out youtube Ottmar has some more recent vids filmed since he lost his hair. The band is paired down to just three, cajon, bass and guitar. Ottmar does a great job revamping some of his better known work, managing to play the melodies while comping the chords, slipping them in where he can. I can respect that. I once has a conversation with a very religious person and I asked them the following question. "What is worse, an extremely religious person who sins or an Athiest who sins?" Well, in my opinion - at least the athiest isn't a hypocrite. I don't think Ottmar claims to be a pure flamenco (I could be wrong there) but as long as he doesn't market himself as a Pure Flamenco I see no harm. Just like the Blues Brothers who brought the blues to millions who then went out and discovered BB King and Buddy Guy, Ottmar has brought this music into the mainstream. Many folks will go on to discover Sabicas and Paco De Lucia because of their appreciation of Ottmar's stuff. I'm neither for or against. I am sure however that a ton of people will slag him because they need to be seen as cool by the real flamenco folks. The thing I do hate about Ottmar is when he takes a typical Flamenco style and then just doesn't bother to play the compas or style at all and just makes some kind of melange / fusion dreck. He should stick to Rumbas, it's what he does best. Finally, I doubt Ottmar will do anything else in his career that will have the impact of his first few albums. But then again neither will the Gypsy Kings. Stoney
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