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Stories about famous flamencos (as told by El Entri)
ABOUT SABICAS' FINGER NAILS- Entri asked to examine his right hand once, and he said that each of Sabicas' nails was a different, totally weird shape. He said "One was like a watermelon, another was like a potato, a third like a banana"
PACO: WITH OR WITHOUT NAIL One time Entri was hanging out with Paco somewhere, and Paco was really warmed up and ripping off a bunch of fast scales. Something happened and a piece of one of Paco's nails broke (it was I or M), leaving a jagged ruined edge. He stuck the finger into his mouth, bit off the remaining part of the nail, and continued the fast scales without any problem.
MELCHOR DE MARCHENA Entri hung out with Melchor a lot back in the day and said he was an amazing player, with one of the most puro sounds ever. One time, after they had played in some tablao, a young kid came up to Melchor and wanted to show him his fancy new guitar. The guitar was very expensive, someone had bought it for him. The kid was very proud of it and wanted to know what Melchor thought. Melchor played the guitar a little bit, and said it was excellent. He handed it back to him. "Now buy yourself some hands"
PACO COMMENTS ON GERARDO One time Paco went to see a show of Gerardo Nunez, at some point when Gerardo was starting to get big. After the show, a reporter asked Paco what he thought of the performance. Paco said he didn't like it. When the reporter asked why, Paco said "Because he didn't even make a single mistake"
AWESOME SABICAS QUOTE One time Sabicas apparently said "I'll tell you a secret. Almost all guitars sound good" meaning that what most players were lacking was technique.
ENTRI'S ALTERNATIVE NAME FOR RASGEOS One time we were all playing rasgeo compas exercises again and again, and Entri was not happy with our performance. He said "Do you know what the other name for rasgeos is?" "What?" "Euros!" Meaning that if you can't play good rageos, you ain't getting paid
PACO IS TWISTED I swear to god this is how Entri told it to me, one night when we were eating dinner at his house. Paco had finished playing a concert, and people were coming up to him and chatting with him. A young gitano guy came up and said to Paco "Maestro, I want to play really well like you. But I don't want to practice all that technique all day long, I think that's ****. A true artist should really just feel the guitar. How can I do that?" Paco said "Hmm... shove it up your ass"
"It's silly stuff. One must feel the tempos." - Beethoven's opinion on metronome.
After some time he changed his mind and wrote a letter to his friend:
"I'm very glad that you agree with me in the opinion relating to the matter of 'Tempo' marks. What can be more absurd, for instance, than 'Allegro' which always means 'merry' and how often is so far from this idea of time that the piece says the very opposite of the designation. So far as I'm concerned I have been thinking for a long time of giving up the tempo marks Allegro, Andante, Adagio and Presto. Maelzel's metronome provides us with the opportunity to do this."
"Do not attempt to force the tone of your instrument, if you do it will not respond. Caress and coax. But never force it. The guitar can never be made as loud as a piano. By endeavouring to obtain more than the instrument was constructed for and, therefore, more than it is capable of, only produces noise - not musical tone. Obtain from your instrument as much as it is capable; but be fully aware of its limitations."
Q: In 15 seconds, what's the difference between composition and improvisation?
Steve Lacy: In fifteen seconds the difference between composition and improvisation is that in composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in fifteen seconds, while in improvisation you have fifteen seconds.
The old Heifetz story goes that the master would be told frequently after concerts, “Maestro, your Stradivari sounds incredible.” In response, he would open up his case, bring his violin to his ear, shrug, and quip, “I don’t hear anything!”
An elementary school age cellist was getting bullied by some older philistine boys on the playground. I don’t know the joke, but the punchline is “Yo,yo mama!”
I first heard the maneuver attributed to Manolo de Huelva.
While playing backstage he was approached by an expensively dressed woman, pearls and all. She said, “I would just like to say your guitar sounds so beautiful.”
Manolo lapsed into silence, then asked, “How do you like it now, Madam?”
There was this cave guy named Korg, he pounded a stick on a hollow tree stump he covered with dried fish skin. A cave lady from from the next cave over says “Korg, your hollow stump is so evocative and haunts the evening air with mysterious beauty.”
Korg stops hitting stump. “Yeah cave lady from other cave, how you like it now?”
I first heard the maneuver attributed to Manolo de Huelva.
While playing backstage he was approached by an expensively dressed woman, pearls and all. She said, “I would just like to say your guitar sounds so beautiful.”
Manolo lapsed into silence, then asked, “How do you like it now, Madam?”
RNJ
If it's true, I've already started liking him despite his strange attitude to his fellow guitaristas. But what a player he was. His picado was ahead of its time.
And here I thought Kessel was a wit. I saw him play once at a dive on Powell st in SF. Late 70's or early 80's. I spoke to him on his break and he was kind of an ass. I thought such a great player doing a crap gig. But still a jerk to one of the few fans that bothered to come out. Great guitarist though....
quote:
ORIGINAL: estebanana
There was this cave guy named Korg, he pounded a stick on a hollow tree stump he covered with dried fish skin. A cave lady from from the next cave over says “Korg, your hollow stump is so evocative and haunts the evening air with mysterious beauty.”
Korg stops hitting stump. “Yeah cave lady from other cave, how you like it now?”
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