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Posts: 6440
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
Review of Jerónimo Maya in London
Jerónimo Maya at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London December 7th 2003
Jerónimo Maya comes with more credentials than you need to enter the Oval Office, unescorted, while the President is on the phone to Kofi Annan, in his pajamas.
Son of the guitarist Felipe Maya, a nephew of singer Ricardo Losada and a prodigy at the age of 10. He has shared the bill with Paco De Lucia and Camaron de la Isla. Classically trained at the Madrid Conservatory, according to his bio, he has recorded with Enrique Morente.
A monster of a curriculum vitae, yet he is relatively unknown outside of Spain or perhaps even in Spain? He has just released a CD, "Vestido De Luces" and has been favourably compared to PDL himself. Rumour has it that the master said of Jerónimo, "I couldn't play that well when I was his age".
On Sunday 7th of December, Melchor of Jerez and I were looking forward to his concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. First problem, finding the venue. It's tucked upstairs at the South Bank Centre and the signs will happily point you at barred stairwells, bricked off doorways and anywhere but the hall.
Second problem, we were late and the concert had already started. No support act, no programmes and we couldn't go into the hall until he had finished the first piece. We watched on a TV monitor above the door. The familiar strains of a weeping guitar beckoned. Jerónimo appeared to be on his own and the usher warned me it was 90 minutes, straight through with no intermission. I wasn't complaining.
Whatever the piece was, it ended with a whimper and we filed in with others who had also forgotten their satellite navigation systems.
Third problem, I chose the wrong seat. Melchor got the one next to the angel. A thin shawl draped one her shoulders in homage to baille, she was definitely going to be a distraction. I had been turned down for this date and was especially sulky. I was earnest in attracting her appraisal of my notepad and pen.
Jerónimo sits on a chair, no surprise there but goodness knows what they might get up to if they didn’t have to sit down. What is interesting is the clue it offers. Only two other empty chairs and a couple more mikes indicate a minimal set. Clearly, this is a very solo guitarist. Alone under one or two high, yellowish spots but not a trace of nerves. The audience sits stacked up behind each other, filling half the average-sized venue. We face the stage like a bunch of undergraduates, except that we are awake.
When I first saw Jerónimo, it was at a pre-concert "audience" for aficionados. I didn't catch his gig that night, so I was especially pleased to get this chance. My recollection was that of a handsome, large man, though not fat and striking in his gypsy looks. Tonight he reminds me of a young Hemmingway or Orson Welles. A small goatee adds to the effect. He is wearing a curious outfit of grey flannel. A single breasted, collarless suit buttoned to the neck. A passing nod to China?
The second piece is a soleares. I notice that he seems to steady his 3rd finger under the 1st string for picado. The soleares is formulaic and immediately recognisable; it is 'de rigueur' for cante jondo, except there is no cante. This is a very lonely solea. One sign of a great guitarist is in the execution of the rasgueos, a flurry of strumming fingers. These are traditionally described with metaphors of automatic weaponry. Jerónimo's are not at all ballistic, but consistent, not too fast, soft without degrading, owing more to waterfalls than warfare. I can honestly say that I felt like crying, knowing that I will never, ever, play like that.
His choice of guitar is a negra, rosewood back and sides. Favoured by solo guitarists, they sustain a little longer than the blanca, when there is no singing to interfere with. I can't tell the make or model but it sounds great.
The soleares moves into a buleria, I find palos are often difficult to identify without the clues provided by palmistas, jaleos, cajon and cante. Jerónimo had none of these, though some in the audience bravely inserted the odd "ole" to make up for it.
The front row, which we were near, contained many fans; indeed my own teacher shushed me when I took my seat behind him. I wasn't convinced by the audience’s jaleos but it helped for an atmosphere. I cannot really bear formal flamenco when it’s staged like some kind of lecture, professor Jerónimo benignly smiling down on us and allowing a glimpse of calf.
He looks like he is making love now, wish I were. It goes down a storm and rightly so. Then, at last, the cantor arrives. "What time do you call this? You're even later than us". Paco del Pozo takes a seat and begins to rub his hands together slowly.
He has nothing but hands and knees to take our attention, no guitar to hide behind, and his knees exaggerated by my angle of view. Jerónimo fastens a capo behind the 6th fret and begins the soulful tientos. Paco has a fantastic voice, great rubbing hands and a lovely squished up face as he squeezes out the moans from deep down, plaintiff cries for justice, for love. Jerónimo has a flamenco thumb, the single most important digit. Given just a thumb a good guitarist can play pretty much all that he needs to entertain. This is perfect, as close as it gets. The tientos turns to tangos and the familiar swing starts heads nodding, as if we had our cervical vertebrae replaced with marbles while we weren't looking. The transition is sublime, so subtle you have forgotten how we got here - as familiar as a drive home, but you can't remember the journey. This is looking good.
Another guitarists join us. Leo de Aurora is Jerónimo's brother though looks nothing like him. Jerónimo has the hair your mother would expect of gypsy if he came around to pick up your sister. Long, black, curly and tied into a ponytail. Leo's is black but cut like a medieval page. It gives him a trendy and studious air. A student has joined the young professor.
Paco doesn't sing anymore, rather providing muted jaleos in support of a rather sweet piece – the trouble is that I detect some improvisation here and we are closing in on rumba beat. My antennae start twitching. This could be a slide into the dreaded flamenco/jazz fusion jam. Worse, Paco leaves and, for me, the flamenco left with him.
I cannot fault the playing, the sound and precision is right on the nail. Leo's picado is a little rushed sometimes and maybe it doesn’t always quite end on the intended note, but that's just being picky.
Problem number four, we are about one third through the repertoire and we are still jamming. Jerónimo goes into an Arabic, one finger rasgeuo/picado thing but then back into a jazz rumba thing. Dare I say that we might be showing off a tad?
This is a disappointment, two dueling guitars with no cante, dance, cajon, palmas or jaleos is lacking so many ingredients one might as well make a curry with only the chicken. The two brothers look to one another, one waiting for the other to passing over the lead - a couple of kids having some fun. This belies Jerónimo's enormous skill. Whilst Leo strains to reach an imagined chord in his head and transmit it down his left arm, Jerónimo beats the compas on the soundboard with a complex of thumb, knuckle and nail. He would be one hell of a percussionist.
I sense that some in the audience are also losing the plot but it may just be my misinterpretation of something special. My attention wanders to Angel but she's merrily clapping along. But that's the thing with flamenco; it's not supposed to be easy to clap along. Only the daft or the experienced should attempt to clap along. But this is 4/4 and it has been for thirty minutes. More Latin jazz than Andalucian hardcore. Also, Angel is with an oaf who digs the jamming - the flamenco left him querulous. What a waste.
Jerónimo thanks us for coming and introduces his act, he mentions his new CD and that Django Reinhardt is his hero. That explains a lot so I leave a few minutes early, beat the crowd and the encore.
Jerónimo Maya has bags of talent; he is not an aggressive, in-your-face guitarist, such a sweet tone and rhythmic technique. A near- perfect accompanist to a wonderful singer but I don't like jazz, so I couldn't enjoy half of the show. I hope he goes back to what he knows and he knows it like Hemmingway knew Spain.
RE: Review of Jerónimo Maya in London (in reply to Escribano)
Hi Simon, My mane is Keiko, I am from Jerónimo`s record rabel from Spain. I would like to correct mistakes in your review published on the 7th. "Vestido de Luces" is not his first album, is the second album of Paco del Pozo which Jerònimo produced as a music director, together with Jorge Pardo. And he has not recorded with Enrique Morente. We are going to release his first album titled "Jerónimo" in March this year. Do not worry, the album is the most flamenco album ever and I am sure you would enjoy very much. "He is unknown in Spain...", well, if you pick up any flamenco books published in Spain, his name is listed, so he is well known as much as he could be, in my opinion. I enjoyed your review a lot anyway. I will pass it to Jerónimo and I am sure he would enjoy that, too. Best wishes Keiko Higashi
Posts: 6440
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
RE: Review of Jerónimo Maya in London (in reply to Guest)
Hi Anita! Welcome to our forum. Sadly, I missed Jerónimo at Lewes and the Ascot Peña Flamenca but please keep us informed here of any further gigs in our events section. You are free to post.
RE: Review of Jerónimo Maya in London (in reply to Guest)
I went down to Lewes (from Glasgow) to see Jeronimo, I think, two years ago, and took in both the afternoon questions/answers forum and the evening concert. He struck me as being an extremely inteligent and gifted person, very philisophical and much in control of his guitar which he explained, was just an extension of himself. I left feeling in two minds about things, super performer but not too sure about the jazzy bits. The real bummer was that I got mistaken for another guy from Glasgow, and got into an awkward conversation with the lady from Ascot Pena who had organised Jeronimo's visit. The fella doing the translation at the afternoon session said that Jeronimo didn't have a copy of his early video, made when he must have been about 10years old, playing away and sucking in his cheeks as he focused on the music. I later contacted Ascot Pena and offered to send Jeronimo my only copy, but my offer was rejected.
RE: Review of Jerónimo Maya in London (in reply to Jim Opfer)
Hi Jim, My name is Keiko, and I am from the company called alma100 musica from Spain, which edited Jeronimo's first solo album. If you would like to contact Jeronimo for sending the video, please feel free to contact me. My e-mail address is as below. By the way, the album 'Jeronimo' is a good one. Please listen! You can listen to a couple of tunes of the album in flamenco-world.com if you wish. Best regards Keiko Higashi alma100@teleline.es
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Hi Jim, 
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