Javier Patino, flamenco guitarist. Interview
“There are a lot of us
guitarists playing at the back who are always obscured”
Silvia Calado. Jerez, March 2009
Translation: Joseph Kopec
Today’s Jerez guitar opts
for a personality of its own. The disciples of El Carbonero
and José Luis Balao walk alone. And little by little,
after gaining experience by accompanying baile and doing
quite a few “somersaults” around the world,
they are capturing their music. The latest one to do so
is Javier
Patino, who has gathered the scores reflecting
his experiences on ‘Media vida’. The album,
which is produced by Tino di Geraldo and accompanied by
percussions, violin, contrabass, Tomasito and, of course,
Javier Barón, places guitar in the foreground. And
therefore, “it sounds like what I feel, what I am”.
He’d had the idea of recording his
music going around in his head for some time. But Javier
Patino knew how to wait until “everything was the
way it had to be”. The fruit of that patient attitude
is ‘Media vida’, an album consisting of “songs
I’d composed” during that half of his existence
he has spent glued to a guitar. By the time the moment came
to record, he found beside himself a devoted accomplice:
Tino
di Geraldo. As the Jerez-born guitarist explains, “he’s
been there from the first note to the last and he’s
believed in this project from beginning to end”. Moreover,
he points out that “he’s been at the entire
recording with all the musicians and afterwards he’s
stayed there arranging every little beat, which is a lot
of work; I’ll always be grateful to him because he
gave me the chance to have this dream”.
Once at the studio, he relates that “the producer
gave everything the green light and he didn’t take
away a single note from me, nor did he add a single note”.
The result of that communication has translated into agility:
“It was a question of going to the studio, recording
and everything flowed nice and fast”. The repertoire
wasn’t decided a priori, but was defined as he went
along starting with all the scores which Patino has done,
especially by assignment from bailaores. And especially
from Javier
Barón, the magnificent winner of the 2008 National
Dance Prize. As the guitarist states, “he’s
given me confidence since the early days and I’ve
always contributed music to his shows”. The relationship
has been pure feedback, since he is a bailaor who “needs
music, is demanding; he doesn’t settle for just anything”.
Some pieces are from shows by the company. For example,
the tanguillos ‘Mundo nuevo’ which acted as
a leitmotiv in ‘Meridiana’. And also the soleá
‘Zapatitos negros’ which comes from ‘Dime’.
In fact, it is dedicated to one of the stars of that show
which took place at the ‘Lorcan’ Huerta de San
Vicente, maestro Manuel
Soler. Converging in that song is Barón’s
heel tapping in his honor as well as two outstanding instrumentalists:
violinist Alexis
Lefèvre and contrabass player Pablo
Martín. But, as Patino explains, “it’s
really a solo guitar album, it doesn’t have a single
dubbed guitar, which means that what you hear on the album
is what will try to be heard live”. To which he adds
that “I didn’t want to overdo it with the violins
and contrabass, either. In a couple of songs I’ve
used violin arrangements that provide a really special touch,
but I didn’t want to weigh down the album, but rather
have it sound like guitar and more guitar. I think guitar
in itself is music and you have to listen to it”.
“The percussions do have to be there
at all times”. They’re played by Tino di Geraldo,
who “lays the foundations which are always fitting
for each song; he knows how to do that better than anybody.
He works on the changes of speed... and makes the most of
each song”. The lineup of artists in the recording
is completed with the clapping of Tomasito,
“a luxury”. And with “the very significant
jaleos of David
Lagos, Carlos Grilo and Javier Barón... another
luxury”. And all of it is a cause of joy for him.
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“I have
two maestros and they’re both equally important,
El Carbonero and José Luis Balao” |
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‘Media vida’, which was presented
live at Festival de Jerez 2009, is full of “songs
which are really significant, since they’re based
on experiences”. Standing out is the opening, ‘A
oscuras’, which relates the loss of a family member;
‘A mi Juana’, “a granaína dedicated
to my mother; the zapateado ‘Calle Barja’, which
is “where I grew up”. Moreover, especially significant
are the fandangos de Huelva ‘Marinero eterno’,
which pay tribute to his maestro José Luis Balao.
“I have two maestros and they’re both equally
important, El Carbonero and José Luis Balao, but
on this occasion I’ve dedicated a song to Balao. He
always dresses up like a sailor; that’s why he’s
called that. As they’re fandangos de Huelva, the song
is related to the sound of the sea, of the salt marsh”,
the guitarist remarks.
The curious thing is that Balao’s
students are several Jerez-born guitarists who are characterized
not by the trademark of the land, even though they have
it, but rather for each having defined his own personality.
Coinciding in the same class with the same maestro were
Javier Patino, Juan
Diego, José
Quevedo ‘Bolita’ and Alfredo
Lagos. And Patino feels that Balao gave them the tools
to be themselves. “All of us from Jerez have come
out of there and that’s the way it is. More than telling
us that we had to have our own trademark, it’s something
you catch on to. And curiously, none of us resembles one
another at all; each of us is a different story”,
he comments. Of course, you can tell that “we’re
from Jerez and I think we do have its trademark somewhat,
especially when performing a bulería or certain styles
from here”. The thing is that “the four of us
have gone out there doing somersaults, since those of us
from Jerez have always had to go away in order to work.
Some went away to Madrid, others of us have moved to Seville,
always moving around until eventually your work comes out
and you move forward”. Not only has having to go out
into the world marked them, but “also influencing
us is that we’ve all worked for dancing”. As
he specifies, “on having to compose music time and
time again and not have it repeat for each show, you’re
unintentionally working on composing”.
And that’s the essence of this first album by Javier
Patino. Although as he elaborates, he hasn’t had to
work too hard to adapt when shifting from the baile scene
to that of the solo album. “When I’ve done songs
for a show, at some moment I’ve had my space and it’s
been just to play the song. Except for the soleá
dedicated to Soler, which did have to be played for it to
have its own dynamics, the rest are solos. Some are older
than others, but they haven’t seen the light until
now”. And there’s a hidden calling of attention
there. Patino alerts that “there are a lot of us guitarists
playing at the back who are always obscured; we’re
neither criticized nor we’re there. But hey, we are
there! I hope all those guitarists who are at the back push
forward, because there’s a really wide range of musicians.
And there are the cases, for example, of Jesús
Torres or Canito”.
-Is it a vindication for a guitarist
‘from the back’ to come out with an album?
-A vindication and a need because the
time comes when you realize inside that you have something
to tell. It’s like when you’re getting angry
and you’re quiet until you explode. Guitar has to
be listened to. And if baile evolves it’s thanks to
guitar; that has to be said. There’s the secret. The
music provides the accents, provides the places; it’s
quite important. The guitarist is the one who has to be
best prepared. And that might be why it’s so nice
to be a guitarist. You have to know it all, or at least
try to.
| |
“I perform
what I feel and I don’t really care if I’m
told I sound like Jerez or not” |
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And he sees that preoccupation not just
in those of his generation, but in those who are even younger.
“There are a lot of kids who are coming on strong
and their guitar sounds incredible and moreover, they have
the trademark of Jerez. I think that’s always going
to be there”, he believes. And he doesn’t think
at all that upholding the tocaor legacy of this land is
a determining factor: “I don’t feel it to be
a burden. In my case, I perform what I feel and I don’t
really care if I’m told I sound like Jerez or not.
I sound like what I am and I’m not worried about the
rest. Each person has to do what he feels, not letting himself
be influenced by anybody and using technique for what he
wants to say. If you have more technique you’re going
to be able to say it differently, but the important thing
is to say something”. And he says a lot on ‘Media
vida’.
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