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Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England
RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to mark indigo)
Hi guys,
Dave and I are going to watch the masterclass on the Sunday morning. Henry I think I'll recognise you from the vids you've put up, but Buddha I don't know what you look like - white hair eh?! Sounds funky. Mine's purple at the mo.
Anyway, definitely up for a little drinkie after the masterclass.
Posts: 2699
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England
RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to henrym3483)
Hey guys, I'm going to the concert but I have my friends birthday party afterwards so wont be around for drinks after, but before is good!! is there any plan to meet somewhere??
Posts: 2699
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England
RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to Jenny)
hey cool jen, I got your PM, I'll give you a shout once I get there, there are quite a few bars round kings cross area, prob be a bar in the venue too.
Apparently his concert was fab. I've just come from his masterclass which was really good. He got through a lot of material - Bulerias, Rumba, Guajiras, Columbiana, plus some technique stuff - rasgueado and alzapua. He was very relaxed, nice personality, no airs and graces.
There were 6 guitarists and about a dozen observers. Three of the guitarists were forumites, who did brilliantly, and here is a pic of Luke, David (buddha) and Henry. Sorry it's really shaky guys - my camera is crap in less than brilliant light. This was before I'd had a drink, honest!
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Luke, David and Henry all kept up with the fast pace really well. I was glad I was just observing! But my most proud moment was when he asked me to come and sit at the front and play palmas
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RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to Ricardo)
quote:
Any concert reviews?
yup, it was a cracker, jesus mendez and rafael de utrera were singing, they did a tonas piece (a cappella) and solea por buleria (a cappella knocking on a table) they sang through the show, great singing.
carmens dancing was spot on, and she stole the show, the sevillanas she did with a bata de cola dress was amazing as well as the solea por buleria, and buleria.
gerardo was on top form, he did loads of improv and the master class was great, i had a great weekend hanging out with luke as well in ashford, big up the ashford.
RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to henrym3483)
i saw him last night in bristol, awesome show, he was just brutal at times with the guitar, really ferocious, but with really tender moments interspersed - that's something i really like about gerardo's playing (and in flamenco playing generally), the contrasts of aggression and sensitivity
he opened with the sol por bul from andando la tiempo with D# tuning (Templo Del Lucero?), with letras from the singers and a footwork/dancing section with Carmen worked in.
they did tangos por medio with gerardo and the singers, gerardo played some falsetas he taught the one class i did with him way back
they did jucal buleria in D# which then dropped into the piece sevilla which Carmen danced to, then into buleria in B phrygian, then buleria in E por arriba
first half closed with gerardo and singers doing alegrias
second half opened with gerardo playing rondena, then into rondena buleria en el arco, unaccompanied, then faded back into rondena, got up and walked off as one of the singers came on in front of the mikes and sang what i think must have been martinetes (which i 'fess i only guess at from the siguiriya like finger snaps), then he swapped with the other singer singing nana...
then i think must have been the bit where the table roadie came on with a table and the singers and percussionist rapped on it while the singers took turns singing bulerias/soela por bulerias (i guess...)
then i think was the solea (in E por arriba) with Carmen dancing
i think they must have closed with bulerias por medio from gerardo and singers, 'cos he played a falseta that i know from gallo azul somewhere in the set lasty night! but maybe they did this after the table roadie came on and took the table off again and before the solea....
....and then there was an encore where they all came stage front and gerardo played some great trad sounding (to my ears) but funky jerez style bulerias falsetas standing up off mike, and they all, singers, cajonero, carmen, and gerardo took turns to dance some bulerias
i've seen gerardo play entirely solo before, and what was really great about this for me was to see him play not only without 2nd, 3rd etc guitars, bass, flute etc. etc. which don't do much for me at the best of times (ok, 2nd guitar is fine!) but to see him accompany dance, which he did with finesse and such relish, he seemed to be so enjoying himself it was completely infectious.... and i got some nice ideas for varying the basic F, C, F, E chords in solea footwork too!
RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to henrym3483)
seems like a great show, I hope he won't forget to come by sweden sometime as well.
btw, i like how the first picture manages to show three blokes, all with different ways of holding the guitar, serves as a visual hint to how broad flamenco has become :)
Posts: 2699
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England
RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to mrMagenta)
So, its all been said! but whats with the rock style strumming he was doing in the first number, kinda looks like hes holding a pick. Anyways, yeah really enjoyable gig, great vibe and I really liked the intimacy of the venue. I did think guitar could have been slightly louder though!
heres are some pics i sneaked
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RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to Ricardo)
quote:
Angel Sanchez IS Cepillo's real name
Confusing! There must have been a last minute change...unless Cepillo has has had a body transplant. Mark- Rafael is on the shorter guy on the left and Jesus Mendez is the taller one to the right
Nice pics. I wish Gerardo will come to Canada soon.
But, the ambiance and the stage looks a bit like a disappointment to me, I mean we are talking about a major Flamenco talent - I would have at least filled the gap between the plywood and the floor!
Did that somehow lessen the performance for anyone? How much does the stage setting set your expectations - I like curtains and a bit of mystery, and maybe a couple of potted plants.
RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to cathulu)
Terriffic gig and inspiring class.
The concert had a great atmosphere. What an incredibly warm presence Gerardo is both on stage and close up. The venue in London felt very intimate. Just some terrifically gifted musicians having fun sharing their art with an appreciative audience. Straightforward, direct and absolutely irresistable. It was like they were having a party and we turned up and they let us stay. My girlfriend Lorna normally hates flamenco (and no wonder she has to listen to me constantly ) but she had a great time and is now a Gerardo fan.
I even got to jam with Gerardo on sunday !!! He is so gracious that even though I played utter nonsense I didn't feel embarrassed at all. Honestly guys if he is ever in your area and generous enough to offer some time for a class you just got to treat yourselves.
Also it was great to meet Henry, Luke and Ailsa. Henry and Ailsa we all know well but Luke is a young man with loads to offer and I am sure we are going to hear much more from him soon. I even got to bore them in the flesh with my ideas about flamenco notation.
nice venue, the off mike singing was perfect, and even gerardo's playing off mike came across (i was about 8 rows back), the place has really good acoustic. Anyone using amplification here nearly always over-amps it, you need some for guitar in a flamenco ensemble, sure, but not nearly as much as most use
Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England
RE: gerardos concert and class (in reply to guitarbuddha)
quote:
I even got to jam with Gerardo on sunday !!! He is so gracious that even though I played utter nonsense
Don't believe this man!! GB didn't play utter nonsense at all, he played really well, I was seriously impressed.
I guess a buddha wouldn't boast (though David admits to being quite un-buddha-like in reality), but I could tell just from the workshop that GB is a fine player and musician.
That said, I agree that Gerardo was very gracious and very encouraging to all the players.
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