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Who do you think are the best modern flamenco composers> I don't care about virtuosity as much as good taste in composition and performance. A lot of what I hear is arpeggios, moor-ish chords and fast licks with no hum-able melody or endless vamps being repeated
Posts: 15722
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Favorite Flamenco guitar composi... (in reply to Santiago)
quote:
Who do you think are the best modern flamenco composers
define "modern" and "composer". For example guitar players born after 1954?
quote:
I don't care about virtuosity as much as good taste in composition and performance.
what is "virtuosity"? fast picado? too many notes? What is "good taste" for example? Moraito vs Niño de Pura?
quote:
A lot of what I hear is arpeggios, moor-ish chords and fast licks with no hum-able melody or endless vamps being repeated
define "moorish chords", I assume fast "licks" are picado falsetas, but "endless vamps" is funny because a vamp by its very nature is supposed be "endless" vs a harmonic progression. As in if you don't like modal vamps then take it up with Miles Davis first of all.
So, your post is full of negativity and nuance that reveals your preconceived ideas about flamenco music (ie your limited understanding). However, the title of the post is harmless and invites lots of positive response that might inform you and others about music perhaps not explored yet. I am going to pretend that is all I read and give you the following.
For me Ramon Montoya is essential listening. Every time I go back there and check either his solo material or his accompaniments for old singers, I get new insight and inspirations for my own playing. While the next gen of tocaores established the ground work for modern playing, my personal favorite is Manuel Morao, in particular his unique thumb work I find inspiring. My teacher, Gerardo Nuñez showed us much of that material, and he is also the "modern" player I respect the most. As for the transition generation, Manolo Sanlucar Tauromagia is the best. His student Vicente Amigo does great work, however, his second album Vivencias is superior. I feel after the first 3 he made his statement and the rest has just continued that line. Antonio Rey is perhaps the best with his second and 3rd albums (fuego and alma) showing both strong influences of Amigo, and a good hold on tradition (quotes from Parilla de jerez, Nuñez and Paco de Lucia). Diego del Morao was promising but after his initial appearance early 2000s he has not contributed much for my taste, compared to his father and great uncle. Jeronimo Maya was a prodigy that never inspired me, but lately his playing seems to have gone backwards in the sense he has grasped the essence his father seemed to have in the 80s era. Of the caño roto (baile programmers I call them), I always liked Jesus del Rosario, though he produced little audio, what he did was inspiring. David Cerreduela same deal. The most underrated tocaor IMO was Enrique del Melchor, his album Cuchichi being superior.
As for the big maestro PDL, my go to album on repeat has always been the Duende 1972 album where he truly stamped his style out. He still played that tremolo in the Rondeña in his final concerts, but of course every note he recorded was gold. I more often listen to his live recordings, including bootlegs, as his studio projects were just the tip of an artistic iceberg.
RE: Favorite Flamenco guitar composi... (in reply to Santiago)
I just sent Macael by Tomatito to a friend who plays jazz trumpet. He was quite lost.
There is no melody per se - perhaps too many notes to hum, no sense of rhythm overall, not a ton of virtuosity and fast picados, but I think the point is that even with this piece that has a more composed quality than most of Tomatito's playing, you cannot think of flamenco as composed music. Without that spontaneity, it does not feel like flamenco. I feel like Punta y Tacon by Sabicas is an example of a composed guitar piece, and every 10 year old on youtube who plays classical guitar seems to play this and call it flamenco. Start with the cante.
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"I'm just a poor crazy man in love with his art." Santos Hernandez
Posts: 15722
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Favorite Flamenco guitar composi... (in reply to Harry)
quote:
Macael by Tomatito
my ear is trained but it is pure melody to me. Of course it is toque libre, but there is phrasing with in it. Any jazz player worth his salt will recognize the progressions, but overall not get that there is a formal structure (aka a chart) to flamenco palos...mainly because the majority of forms are "fandango" forms like this one, where, if you are not doing the glorious and obvious copla structure, or mimicking the cante melody itself, then it is what was once called "ritornellos" or boring fluff variations that meander as needed between the coplas (the proper charts). And in THAT sense, the ritornellos of the cante minero forms (Tomatito being from Almeria excels here) are the most interesting musically speaking you will find. Compare this piece to Scarlatti boring V-i all day.
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