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'Piano Jondo', by Diego Amador
The artist gives us a track-by-track run-down
of his album
S.C.O. Madrid, July 2003
Each of the tracks on 'Piano Jondo' has a little story behind it. All of
them spring from the mind of Diego
Amador, who shares them in the form of music, using piano as his medium. Love,
friendship, family, suffering, his roots, and the concerns in general of the musician
and human being can all be found on this album. In spite of his versatility -
in fact he also plays guitar and mandola - he wasn't alone on this project. "I
took advantage of this disc to work with the people who play live with me: Miguel
Vargas on contrabass; Luis Amador, my nephew, on cajón; and I also asked
Joaquín Grilo to dance and supply palmas". With them and with
his piano he weaves together an album where you can find his first composition
alongside a bulería with a twist of Paco de Lucía ("I
can even feel my bald spot growing, and it isn't like I'm short of hair!"),
a song in memory of his uncle Diego por rondeñas, a tribute to the
flamenco artists of yesteryear por tarantas, an eclectic seguiriya... We'll
hand you over to the man himself, 'El Churri':
Diego Amador (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
'Soleá del Churri' (soleá)
"It began to take shape when I was still at my parents' house - a good
number of years ago. I think it was Christmas, and it started coming together
up in my room. I recorded maybe ten versions on the four-track. I recorded with
everyone who stopped by: "Put the handclaps on here", "record that
here…" That soleá tune is really important to me because it's
one of the earliest decent songs I wrote, maybe the first."
'Pa los viejitos' (taranta)
"This song 'for the old men' grew out of a couple of old falsetas borrowed
from Sabicas and from Niño
Ricardo. I started playing around and building on them in the studio. This
taranta is dedicated to the old-time masters of the flamenco guitar: Sabicas,
Ricardo, Borrull, all of them."
'Comparito' (bulería)
"My godfather said I should give the bulería this name because
it sounded like a show-off at work. It came about listening to Paco de Lucía
all the time, he always slips in there. Paco's always out there. There are times
when I'm so in love with his stuff I can even feel my bald spot growing, and it
isn't like I'm short of hair!"
'Quiero olvidarte' (soleá)
"This soleá 'I want to forget you' derived from a melody that was
inspired by a visit to the countryside. I walked along the riverbanks and around
the riverside with my parents, with my wife… and, I don't know, I saw the
mountains, and thinking of her the original melody came to me. And from that came
the soleá."
'A mi tío Diego' (rondeña)
"My uncle Diego loved rondeñas played on the guitar, and when he
died I had the rondeña in my head already on the way back from the funeral.
And I sat down and wrote it for him. It just came out from inside, all by itself."
'¡Vivan los gitanos!' (bulerías)
"This was my godfather's idea too. He told me I should give it that name.
And I can feel my bald spot growing on this one too; I always see Paco's bald
spot when I hear this bulería... and the flowing locks of Tomate, uncle
Tomate. I played live with him for so long it all rubbed off on me. He has a peculiar
style of playing… he's an unusual character, in his approach to bulerías
and in general. El Tomate is like my dad. Since he's always around he's always
there to give advice, he's like a mentor."
Front cover of 'Piano Jondo'
'Seguiriya de pildorilla' (seguiriya)
"I was going through a weird phase then, I saw things in a strange way,
I don't know how to explain it to you. I'd be locked away in my room and sometimes
things just popped into my head. Suddenly there was a philharmonic string section
in one part of my head, and in another a jazz band - Charlie Parker, Miles Davis.
And there'd also be the perfect flamenco group - Camarón, Paco de Lucía,
Tomate... and then, well whatever. Too much stuff, I was going a little crazy
back then. I never took pills or anything like the title suggests, I never have
done, but I don't know. When I played it to Raimundo - he was even weirder - but
he helped me to polish it up a little. On the first album I wasn't happy with
how it came out. There was a swing part that, well, I decided to leave it in.
This time I recorded it like I wanted, rescuing the strange solo, that's how it
came out the first time around. And that solo never comes out the same way. With
any melody, anything at all, you always come up with something, it depends on
the moment, the audience, the people around you... I told Raimundo I had a seguiriya
that had nothing to do with seguiriyas except the rhythm. I say that for the benefit
of flamenco artists, so they don't take offence. And he said it was like a seguiriya
on acid, hence the name".
'El llanto de la lluvia' (tanguillos)
"I really like the wintertime, rainy days give me inspiration for writing
songs. And like this 'cry of the rain', what I write is melancholy. I don't know
why, but most musicians write sad songs mostly - when we write upbeat songs we
don't like them so much. The most beautiful palo is alegrías, and they're
tricky. This tanguillo was dreamt up on a rainy day when I was alone, and I was
watching the water on the window panes, the storm clouds… and I came up with
the chorus and a few other things."
'Continuum' (tangos)
"It's something that came about when we played tanguillos with the trio
- Carles
Benavent, Jorge Pardo and Tino di Geraldo. I thought it would sound good if
Carles played the Jaco Pastorius intro, he's a big Jaco fan too. And it sounded
sweet. He started it off and on the album I played it on mandola, we adapted it
por tangos... I always did like to do Jaco's stuff, right from the start."
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