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It seems like we skipped a year, but seeing this is the beginning of the decade a new new releases thread might be in order.
I’ll start...with a release from 2019 (of course):
Carlos de Jacoba - Alpaca Real
This was recommended to me by a friend in Granada. It’s got plenty of cante and last track is a Canción that I quite like. Plus, he’s wearing a real spiffy jacket on the album cover.
Thanx Rob for sharing the Carlos de Jecoba release. Gave it a good listen this evening and made some notes below. I didn't care for the last track at all though.
The Track 5 solea is good, the first track was listenable. Funny, my lady really likes the whole album, well except for the last track, I thought iTunes had skipped a beat, I had to get up to be sure we were listening to the same album. As a rule she doesn't care for most of the flamenco guitar I prefer and she has got to be sick of my poor playing. Love is good!
I'm typing this and she looks up from her kindle and says, your smirking. Even more so now. Wanted to listen at least twice because I know it's easy to miss something the first go around.
Really got into the fifth and seventh track, picked up my guitar and noodled along to both best I can cause the good stuff makes me do that.
To be honest it's mostly too easy for my tastes, only a hint of the jazz-like progressions I don't like, unlike my partner who thinks they are great.
Ha, the second go-around and the 8th track comes on again and even The Boss winces...
Making the third run and track 3, I think, I'm thinking this is not bad, think 11:pm weeknight, drinking a cup of ginger tea, noodling along here and there whist your lady reads her book and drinks her tea, almost time for bed kind of not bad.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the album. Liking seven out of eight tracks ain’t bad.
For me, I found the Canción Flamenca to be charming. You never know why an artist chooses to include something like this in a release. Perhaps it was a melody he loved from his childhood, or perhaps it’s intended to bring comfort to an ailing relative or joy to an aging parent. Who knows? But it provides context to the rest of the work, where the artist is providing insight into the things they hold dear. I see it as a gift.
Chicuelo already? Hopefully better than the last one.
Yeah Diego del Morao. Last year Samuelito told me he heard him play this Alegrias in full which is supposed to be on the album. https://youtu.be/656UuqdI9qw
Hi Joonas, great that it’s out now! Looking forward to giving it a listen.
Could you include the full details, like band name and album title? The link is kind of cryptic and if someone wants to search for it in the Foro at some point in the future, that will let them get a hit.
Neil, Really liked this one: Antonio Campos. The Boss not so much as she doesn't care much for the Cante.
Track two, four, five, and seven were my favorites but I might have them mixed up. Mostly I am listening to the guitar myself as my Spanish is vary limited from my So Cal upbringing; Hispanic heritage but little of my culture :/
Yes, the guitar work is superb, as always from Dani de Morón. And as Rob said, he's really allowed to shine on this - and the two complement each other well.
If anyone is interested, Dani de Morón also pops up briefly (along with Vicente Amigo) on the new “Fuel Fandango” album. If you don't know Fuel Fandango they are a fusion/electronic band who mix funk, jazz and flamenco (amongst other styles). Their new disc "Origen" is one of the best-selling in Spain at the moment.
To be honest I have my ear out for music my partner can enjoy with me and if I catch her tapping her foot then I know it's good. We both have eclectic tastes that stretch internationally although we both started as counterculture kids via punk and various alternative genres. I prefer my flamenco to... Well note my new signature if it shows up below.
I'm home sick with what we call the Village Crud so I'm scrolling through music and guitar forums and making a general nuisance of myself.
HR
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I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy, doesn't have to be fast, should have some meat on the bones, can be raw or well done, as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.
Did a quick scan late this evening and heard too much jazz for my tastes. Honestly not a fair assessment as I only listened to the start of each title.
But... The last track was really cool Preciosa miá , still the jazzy begaining but all the other action going on and how the guitar was integrated where the slow rosgaoes were EQ'Ed so you could hear each hit over the orchestration... I'll listen again when the boss is out, she doesn't care for the cante, and I'll turn the volume up. I can't wait.
I'll give the rest of the album another listen just to be fair.
Thanx for sharing,
HR
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I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy, doesn't have to be fast, should have some meat on the bones, can be raw or well done, as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.
Did a quick scan late this evening and heard too much jazz for my tastes. Honestly not a fair assessment as I only listened to the start of each title.
But... The last track was really cool Preciosa miá , still the jazzy begaining but all the other action going on and how the guitar was integrated where the slow rosgaoes were EQ'Ed so you could hear each hit over the orchestration... I'll listen again when the boss is out, she doesn't care for the cante, and I'll turn the volume up. I can't wait.
I'll give the rest of the album another listen just to be fair.
Thanx for sharing,
HR
It’s simply an orchestral enhancement of 5 of his previous recorded guitar solos with some extra things sprinkled here and there. Track 6 is a traditional siguiriyas cante accompaniment.... I didn’t pay much attention to the orchestra on that one. Track 3 tanguillo has a lot of arpegios that I didn’t think Gerardo could do anymore (I guess Alvaro martinete played those). It was cool to hear Javier conde learned Gerardo’s improvisation from andando Del tiempo note for note.
Basically “sketches of Spain” vibe orchestrations necessarily sound like jazz to most ears.
On Youtube I watched Gerardo playing and accompanying cante. It must have been made one or two years ago. He was using only his thumb most of the time.
On Youtube I watched Gerardo playing and accompanying cante. It must have been made one or two years ago. He was using only his thumb most of the time.
Yes. In 2008 at the height of his career, he sustained an injury and cancelled 3 months of concerts. It was strange, but that summer I saw him and his playing was fine. The next year I noticed him missing notes. Minor things but noticeable. In 2010 his index finger was sticking out, hardly used. It seems with his attempt to rehabilitate his hand he developed a dystonia in the index finger.... at this point it’s been 10 years and we consider it permanent. I was quite depressed about it myself back then as suddenly many of his critics started praising his concerts (he was often criticized as overly technical player, which was nonsense IMO). Here were some thoughts back then:
Maybe it was the overuse of tendons in the index finger. As we get older the regeneration process in our body slows down. I do believe pro players must take extra care of their hands and fingers like a porcelain. If **** happens sometimes there'll be no turning back.
General opinions were that he was "all technique" no feeling yada yada, his music was not flamenco or his compositions had no compas, and that he was against the concepts of "just a voice and guitar" meaning, traditional accompaniment of cante, and not "jerez" enough.
The quote above reminds me of a video I watched a few days ago. Mr. Wooten talks about making music with feeling. Feeling is where it's at. I completely agree with him. What does it bring if someone with an immense ability to play in a technical sense fails to reach the listener with feeling? This short youtube video is for everyone who wants to make music.
Mr. Marlow, don't get me wrong. I'm not judging Gerardo because I don't know how technically good he is. Don't know the way he plays with or without feeling. I only watched a short clip of him on youtube a few times and some parts of Encuentro video. It looks like some purists were critisizing him for not sounding flamenco enough and that his playing is driven too much by flamenco nuevo.
What does it bring if someone with an immense ability to play in a technical sense fails to reach the listener with feeling?
Sorry, this is subjective. Annoyingly so. I disagree even I love victors playing. I would never want to play more like BB king than holdsworth. The thought of understanding what that means and doing that DELIBERATELY for wider acceptance is nauseating to me. The point is the advance technical players often DO grab people. So what if those are a different bread of listener? I don’t think it fair to make such critiques. It’s totally ridiculous really and only serves to reveal what the critics like or understand. Usually it’s in the understanding that what influences the tastes anyway. That’s why that whole scene in Amadeus “too many notes” is so great. Writing off all the depth and sophistication of real genius work, simply due to a superficial understanding and dislike. It makes people feel important that otherwise are not.
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