The album is finally here! This is the first official CD that I have recorded in Spain. It is Diego Paqué's third album and was recorded live on June 8th, 2008 at a club called 'La Flama' in Mataró, Spain (just north of Barcelona). We had 1000 printed, but it will soon be available for on-line purchase. If anyone is interested in buying a copy, let me know and I'll send you the good old plastic box and cover that you can hold and feel.
CARLES BENAVENT,
MARIANO MARTOS,
RICARDO PIÑERO,
JEFFERSON ROSE,
I took a lesson the other day from the teacher I hope to study under next year, Ricardo Piñero. I had taken a few classes from him when I first arrived in Spain, but really had no idea what I was doing and had a hard time understanding the rhythms and feeling of flamenco. Now, after playing for over a year in a flamenco group, it was more like a conversation than anything. I have the basic concepts down, but here in front of me was a master at his craft. It was both humbling and exciting.
We talked for a while before playing and I got a little more background on him that was very interesting. For those of you who don't know, Carles Benavent is the father of electric bass in flamenco. His prized student is Mariano Martos and his prize student is Ricardo Piñero. Sitting there with him and while he played some of the most amazing bass lines I ever heard, I felt like I could be part of history if I can continue to study under him, like a descendant of the Great One of flamenco bass. Ricardo has also just been given the position of head instructor of bass at the 'Taller de Musics', one of the most prestigious music schools in Barcelona. In other words, I feel blessed and lucky to even have the opportunity to study with him.
I would not say, however, that he is the most amazing teacher, but watching him play and the way that he feels the music is, well, spectacular. Flamenco is a mix of emotions. It is the Spanish blues mixed with party music with a big spoonful of history. The ancient rhythms go back generations and the most important thing in flamenco in Ricardo's words is 'sentimiento' (feeling) when you play. The lyrics can sometimes be incredibly sad; speaking of suffering, pain, heartbreak, poverty, but even so when you play, it is a music that is taking the musicians and crowd away from all of that. A relief from the pain of the day. A group counseling session, so to speak. He is also incredibly knowledgeable of the history and the way that flamenco has changed over the generations. He is a wealth of information and I am ready to learn.
I recorded the lesson so I could go back and try and emulate what he taught me in class because in the moment I was a bit overwhelmed. He taught me a falseta (an instrumental breakdown in which the instruments, not the voice, create the melody) by Carles Benavent that is both beautiful and complex. It took me a while to figure it out, but I got it down. Needless to say, I was proud of myself. He also gave a few intense fingering exercises, all of them within the different rhythms of flamenco. He told me to get the notes down and then incorporate it into the rhythm. So far I have been able to do the first part and am working to play them within the 'palo' or rhythm. Difficult stuff, but I feel my mind opening up and allowing the flamenco to flow. Now I have to figure out how to do it with sentimiento.
