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Posts: 137
Joined: Sep. 4 2010
From: New York area
RE: Pedro Cortes's new CD (in reply to hardboiled)
Pedro is the man!! In NYC area he is arguably the most respected flamenco guitarist, with deep roots in flamenco. I've been learning from him for a few years now.
Unfortunately he does not self-advertise too much, and I think not too many people on this forum know about him. Taking this chance to advertise his new CD/web site.
i didnt like this video to be honest, which kind of made me hesitate to buy.... thats why i want previews of each track. will he have it on iTunes soon?
I wasn't a fan of the last album because it was way too heavy on fusion, and the video wasn't terribly impressive to be totally honest (the violinist is out of tune) even though there were definitely some very cool compositional moments.
I am looking forward to listening to the samples and the album in its entirety, though!
Posts: 137
Joined: Sep. 4 2010
From: New York area
RE: Pedro Cortes's new CD (in reply to Bulerias2005)
This album is very different than previous. I personally very much enjoy it, Pedro has a very unique way of grooving through. I will ask about itunes and availability. It would be indeed much easier for everyone to decide once there was a preview.
FYI, Pedro just replied to me that itunes will also be available, but he only gets paid if you buy it from his website. Itunes would not give him anything. So if you like the previews, please download or buy cd from his site.
Sounds a bit strange, indeed, and that might not be the exact story with itunes, but apparently Pedro would benefit more if people went through his website, according to him.
FYI, Pedro just replied to me that itunes will also be available, but he only gets paid if you buy it from his website. Itunes would not give him anything. So if you like the previews, please download or buy cd from his site.
That sounds totally bizarre. iTunes always pays the artists.
this is a terrific CD-and I know it intimately having worked with pedro (possible future concerts and CD release events). The counterpoint is really impressive and the entire work shows a mature musicality that comes from the true tradition of flamenco. It is an expression of love for that tradition in which pedro grew up in and has impeccable credentials. It is also a VERY MODERN statement with a new york jazzman's sensibility. Any negative criticisms on this forum in my opinion just spring from a frustration of not being able to engage in the tradition of flamenco-particularly as a participatory ensemble art. Pedro is at the top of his game for a reason--he constantly works with people in New York and elsewhere that are at the top of the profession. They choose him for a reason. Plus he's a madman rhythmically! Love the CD. i think the guajira has top 40 possibilities in spain and Latin grammy possibilities here!
Posts: 15242
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Pedro Cortes's new CD (in reply to Bulerias2005)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Bulerias2005
quote:
ORIGINAL: zendalex
FYI, Pedro just replied to me that itunes will also be available, but he only gets paid if you buy it from his website. Itunes would not give him anything. So if you like the previews, please download or buy cd from his site.
That sounds totally bizarre. iTunes always the artists.
been through it a zillion times in other threads. I sell through CDBABY cuz they give me the best deal and i can set my own prices. Also I sell hard copies through my site. Since it is a new release I assume pedro just means he the artist, if you care to support him, would prefer you buy from him. ON CD baby after I check those boxes "itunes" or "amazon" all bets are off on what they want to charge and what kind of deal of royalty you receive. I don't mind royalties of course but when a new album just comes out you hope to see some return early on, later it doesn't matter as much. I recommend CDBABY ONLY to most artists until they have sold a few, then open the doors. Unless you don't really care.
FYI, Pedro just replied to me that itunes will also be available, but he only gets paid if you buy it from his website. Itunes would not give him anything. So if you like the previews, please download or buy cd from his site.
That sounds totally bizarre. iTunes always pays the artists.
been through it a zillion times in other threads. I sell through CDBABY cuz they give me the best deal and i can set my own prices. Also I sell hard copies through my site. Since it is a new release I assume pedro just means he the artist, if you care to support him, would prefer you buy from him. ON CD baby after I check those boxes "itunes" or "amazon" all bets are off on what they want to charge and what kind of deal of royalty you receive. I don't mind royalties of course but when a new album just comes out you hope to see some return early on, later it doesn't matter as much. I recommend CDBABY ONLY to most artists until they have sold a few, then open the doors. Unless you don't really care.
Ricardo
That is really, really weird and totally not my experience at all. I've sold my previous two CDs from Amazon and I get a constant royalty from every iTunes album sold. It's a set rate that depends on the territory where the album was purchased. The price of my CDs are set to $9.99 and I always get about $8.79 (or $6.79, I don't remember) from each purchase. I would obviously be getting more money if I were to sell the MP3 album from my site directly, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm still getting a set amount of $$$ from Apple.
Perhaps they changed the system, but I distinctly recall being able to set prices through iTunes and Amazon MP3 when I selected those options from CDBaby.
Also, some kind of royalty is still more than "Itunes would not give him anything", which is what I initially found to be bizarre because it is downright illegal for iTunes to sell one's CD and not send any money the artist's way (or whoever set up the agreement)... that simply does not happen if the contract is established through a company like CDBaby.
this is a terrific CD-and I know it intimately having worked with pedro (possible future concerts and CD release events). The counterpoint is really impressive and the entire work shows a mature musicality that comes from the true tradition of flamenco. It is an expression of love for that tradition in which pedro grew up in and has impeccable credentials. It is also a VERY MODERN statement with a new york jazzman's sensibility. Any negative criticisms on this forum in my opinion just spring from a frustration of not being able to engage in the tradition of flamenco-particularly as a participatory ensemble art. Pedro is at the top of his game for a reason--he constantly works with people in New York and elsewhere that are at the top of the profession. They choose him for a reason. Plus he's a madman rhythmically! Love the CD. i think the guajira has top 40 possibilities in spain and Latin grammy possibilities here!
Wait, so nobody is allowed to criticize music now? Saying that the violin on the recording is out of tune has nothing to do with an expression of "frustration at not being able to engage in the tradition of flamenco", but instead with, well... out of tune violins. Hahaha.
I respect Pedro as an artist -- and, in fact, as a complete artist since he is an excellent performer, composer, and teacher -- but there are plenty of guitarists and singers and dancers who are just as intimately aware of the tradition of flamenco. I can think of many, one of whom actually lives in my state of Minnesota and with whom I am incredibly fortunate to currently be taking lessons. Also, if we're talking about rhythmic madmen, I can think of at least 10 young guitarists on the flamenco scene in Spain right now that are doing much more interesting things. Santiago Lara, Antonio Rey, Anton Jimenez, Jose Manuel Leon, Dani Moron, Diego el Morao, Pedro Sierra, etc etc etc... I don't mean to belittle Pedro's level and achievements, but the flamenco community is pretty incredible as a whole, and saying that all those artists "choose" him implies that they are overlooking other fantastic guitarists like Ricardo Marlow and Jason McGuire (which is hardly at all the case, actually).
However, I just listened to the samples and I'm not very impressed to be totally honest. Credentials don't mean much to me if the music doesn't speak to me. I wasn't a fan of Vicente's last two albums, does that mean I'm frustrated because I'm unable to engage in the tradition of flamenco? I fail to see the thought process in that argument. A more logical argument would be that I just didn't like the music, which could be for a variety of reasons. :)
Pedro's farruca sounds pretty cool though. The rest of what I'm hearing from the samples is compositionally meandering IMO, but perhaps the samples aren't doing the pieces justice. I will definitely buy the actual CD before I render a final opinion, though, as I think it is unfair to judge a major work like an album exclusively based on samples.
Do you know if Pedro is giving classes? Do you have contact info for him? I'm on Long Island and looking for a teacher.
Thanks, Todd
Sure,
He teaches out of his place in Jersey City, NJ. As I understand Pedro also gives skype lessons and can teach out of New York a few days a week. You can contact him through his website, pedrocortes.com
I have taken a few years worth of classes. In New York area Pedro is probably the best teacher if you want to study flamenco guitar. Pedro has raized a few great players, Jason McGuire being one, for example.
What I like about him is that he is very willing to share his art and gives you fair amount of material during lessons. I ran into other teachers that would deliberately pace the class slow, so I would get impreesion that the money and time during the class is not well spent (ie I could take out more as long as the person would be willing toshare) No such issues with Pedro, so highly recoommend him regardless of the level of your playing. Moreover he plays live regularly and you have a chance to see how it all comes together, I often record his shows and we just go over stuff with him. Finally he composed a few things on the spot for me and it is a lot of fun to see same motiffs popping into his music.
Posts: 15242
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Pedro Cortes's new CD (in reply to Bulerias2005)
quote:
"Itunes would not give him anything", which is what I initially found to be bizarre because it is downright illegal
When we say "we don't get any money from them" it is a figurative term for what the return is from that source. I think $6 for a CD ain't no money. My experience with amazon: I put out the live disc with Jesus that has 8 pieces on there, most are very long. I sell the disc for $20 bucks at gigs, $16 through my site. Some one informed me the day it was out that they downloaded the whole thing for $7.50!!! So, sure now after I have sold some copies I don't mind $5 buck here or there, but when it first came out and I had just spent some cash and trying to advertise the thing, that was pretty disheartening feeling, like you are competing against companies that are "supporting' your art. Hope that clears my point.
Posts: 1156
Joined: Dec. 6 2006
From: Hamilton, ON
RE: Pedro Cortes's new CD (in reply to Bulerias2005)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Bulerias2005
quote:
ORIGINAL: chuflas
this is a terrific CD-and I know it intimately having worked with pedro (possible future concerts and CD release events). The counterpoint is really impressive and the entire work shows a mature musicality that comes from the true tradition of flamenco. It is an expression of love for that tradition in which pedro grew up in and has impeccable credentials. It is also a VERY MODERN statement with a new york jazzman's sensibility. Any negative criticisms on this forum in my opinion just spring from a frustration of not being able to engage in the tradition of flamenco-particularly as a participatory ensemble art. Pedro is at the top of his game for a reason--he constantly works with people in New York and elsewhere that are at the top of the profession. They choose him for a reason. Plus he's a madman rhythmically! Love the CD. i think the guajira has top 40 possibilities in spain and Latin grammy possibilities here!
Wait, so nobody is allowed to criticize music now? Saying that the violin on the recording is out of tune has nothing to do with an expression of "frustration at not being able to engage in the tradition of flamenco", but instead with, well... out of tune violins. Hahaha.
I respect Pedro as an artist -- and, in fact, as a complete artist since he is an excellent performer, composer, and teacher -- but there are plenty of guitarists and singers and dancers who are just as intimately aware of the tradition of flamenco. I can think of many, one of whom actually lives in my state of Minnesota and with whom I am incredibly fortunate to currently be taking lessons. Also, if we're talking about rhythmic madmen, I can think of at least 10 young guitarists on the flamenco scene in Spain right now that are doing much more interesting things. Santiago Lara, Antonio Rey, Anton Jimenez, Jose Manuel Leon, Dani Moron, Diego el Morao, Pedro Sierra, etc etc etc... I don't mean to belittle Pedro's level and achievements, but the flamenco community is pretty incredible as a whole, and saying that all those artists "choose" him implies that they are overlooking other fantastic guitarists like Ricardo Marlow and Jason McGuire (which is hardly at all the case, actually).
However, I just listened to the samples and I'm not very impressed to be totally honest. Credentials don't mean much to me if the music doesn't speak to me. I wasn't a fan of Vicente's last two albums, does that mean I'm frustrated because I'm unable to engage in the tradition of flamenco? I fail to see the thought process in that argument. A more logical argument would be that I just didn't like the music, which could be for a variety of reasons. :)
Pedro's farruca sounds pretty cool though. The rest of what I'm hearing from the samples is compositionally meandering IMO, but perhaps the samples aren't doing the pieces justice. I will definitely buy the actual CD before I render a final opinion, though, as I think it is unfair to judge a major work like an album exclusively based on samples.
Hmmmmm, that sounds suspiciously critical.... you must be frustrated of not being able to engage in the tradition of flamenco. That must suck.
Hmmmmm, that sounds suspiciously critical.... you must be frustrated of not being able to engage in the tradition of flamenco. That must suck.
I am thinking the same. The dude goes out of his way criticizing cd he did not even listen. It is somewhat pitiful as apparently something is not working out for him, so he relieves the stress writing such posts.
Hmmmmm, that sounds suspiciously critical.... you must be frustrated of not being able to engage in the tradition of flamenco. That must suck.
I am thinking the same. The dude goes out of his way criticizing cd he did not even listen. It is somewhat pitiful as apparently something is not working out for him, so he relieves the stress writing such posts.
I'm pretty sure Adam's post was sarcastic. :P Which CD did I criticize that I didn't listen to? I own and have listened to Pedro's first CD in its entirety and didn't like it, and the samples for this one didn't do much for me either unfortunately. However, I made it clear that I will reserve final judgment until I actually purchase and listen to the entire CD. I'm not seeing what's so pitiful about not liking CD samples. :) Haha.
I also don't think I went out of my way with that post, I just found the original comment about tradition to be totally bizarre and unwarranted, especially since Pedro's new CD is very modern flamenco.
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