BarkellWH -> RE: Carlos Montoya (Dec. 7 2010 17:31:36)
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Carlos Montoya is criticized for not keeping compas and for using too much ligado and tremolo. As a teenager, I was hooked on his albums, and I saw him perform several times in the '60s, '70s, and '80s. Montoya introduced me to flamenco, as he did so many others at that time, before I knew a thing about it. He instilled in me a life-long love of the genre. Later, as I gained more knowledge of flamenco, I understood some of the criticism, but I still don't completely agree with all of it. In his early years he did accompany dancers and cantaors. And when he wanted, he could play in compas. That he did not always do so does not alter the fact that he could play very well indeed when he wanted to. As mentioned above, I agree that he could be sloppy (although I still like his ligados and tremolos), and that Sabicas, Nino Ricardo, and others were better overall. Nevertheless, I do not think that montoya was as bad as many make him out to be. Of course, he was a showman, and a very successful one at that. And therein, I think, lies the source of much of the resentment against him. Cheers, Bill
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