origin and evolution

DESCRIPTION

In a recent interview with music critic Fernando Gonzalez, Jose Luis was asked to describe what exactly is this new work “Origin and Evolution”. He had this to say:

It’s me along with a guitar, trying to tell my stories my own way. I don’t even like to talk about what inspired me to write those songs because as ideal as it would be to have what moves me also move others, I understand that it doesn’t have to be the same idea, the same images. That’s why I prefer not to introduce the songs, and I understand that I’m a bit peculiar about this, but I prefer to have the listener let himself or herself go with the music and the feelings that it provokes in that moment. That is what is important for me.

In “Origin and Evolution”, Jose Luis presents this solo concert in which he “time travels” between 1920’s and 1950’s compositions for flamenco guitar. It is a brief journey through the history of this genre and its first soloists. Pieces from composers such as Ramon Montoya, Mario Escudero and Niño Ricardo, are selected for the first part of the concert. Slowly, Jose Luis introduces his interpretation of those classics and transitions into the performance or his own original repertory.

In his own words:  The evolution of flamenco concert guitar has been fast and intense. The emergence of new musical styles has enriched flamenco guitar, especially from the harmonic point of view, but rarely do we get a change to stop and consider how this has forever changed our form.

Since the appearance of the genius Paco De Lucia, the majority of flamenco guitarists create their own music. As a result, it is rare to find performers of classic flamenco guitar compositions. It is even more rare to find an artist willing to tackle the works of these Masters in light of the art forms evolution and its contacts with other musical styles.

When I came to live in the US, I realized that there is a need to find the context by which we came to be, in order to understand better what we do. In other words, it is impossible to understand what we do today if we do not understand the circumstances that led to our development and expansion. That is why in this concert I try, precisely to this line of evolution of flamenco guitar, as well as that of my own l learning and evolution.

In this concert, Jose Luis returns to the classic pieces he learned while apprenticing with Mario Escudero, but he removes the packaging and reimagines their interpretive and compositional essence, while regenerating and reaffirming his own compositional style. With this, he brings audiences to a renewed understanding of the process of becoming a flamenco composer, as well as, a deeper appreciation of the flamenco guitar as a solo instrument.