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How do the musicians from other genres you work with on this album react to flamenco?

They don’t really know much about flamenco. Obviously they do know Paco de Lucía. What they really admire is the rhythm you have and the heart you put into things. They’re people with their soul within jazz. The fear I had facing up to musicians like Tom Harrell and Marc Johnson is that the two of them had played with Bill Evans himself. And it was a really big challenge for me for them to play with me... and see what they thought! One sentence by Tom Harrell had an impact on me. I wasn’t there when he said it, because I’ve always panicked about seeing the other musicians’ reaction when I finish recording. And Fernando and Javier told me things over the phone. What I was afraid about was the expression, because in jazz they don’t worry so much about technique either, but rather the expression. And it wasn’t easy to grasp where I’d focused my expression. I’d found places where Bill Evans used to express things one way and I’d sought another way to see his expression. And Tom Harrell discerned exactly where I’d changed the expression, and he loved how I’d done it and he wanted to play. I celebrated that day and slept like a log. The same with Lovano; he played ‘The Peacocks’. Man, he can really play. And Marc Johnson was an honor because that man has incredible rhythm and art. It was as if Bill Evans came to life at his side.

Niño Josele (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Albums are constantly coming out by flamenco artists playing other genres. What’s going on; does flamenco limit you?

As flamenco wants to grow, I think it’s nice to go into other fields. There’s time to go on doing flamenco. I’ve done the Bill Evans record, but now I feel more flamenco than before. I really love my music and what this project does is enrich my music. Who says they won’t do a few little details by Bill Evans in a soleá? It can be really nice to take him to flamenco. Bill Evans seems very flamenco to me. He used to do really nice things harmoniously. The melody’s very important in flamenco and Bill Evans had a whole lot of it. Horacio el Negro himself, with the rhythm he’s got, if he were a bailaor, he’d be the best bailaor in the world. We played por bulerías live and he plays unbelievably. He didn’t play latin on this album; he says he’s played like a painter. What I do with jazz, what I do with Argentinean tango... I take for flamenco to enrich it. Flamenco is the greatest thing there is for me, but it’s not the only thing. I try a bit of everything.

There are musicians closer to flamenco collaborating on the album such as Javier Colina and Jerry González. What does each of them contribute?

To me, Javier Colina, besides playing the contrabass the way he plays it, is a universal musician. He plays everything perfectly because he knows everything perfectly: flamenco, jazz, bolero... I don’t see him as a contrabassist, but as a musician. He’s one of the maestros I’ve had. When I didn’t know something, he’s been able to explain it to me perfectly. He knows the flamenco code. Jerry is my latin maestro; he’s the one who’s taught me to discover that world. He was the person who taught me Cuban music and that beginning with latin jazz, jazz is something else. For me to be able to listen to a song by Thelonious Monk better, first he gave me the version in latin. Afterwards he played it more serious for me, tougher. I discovered jazz that way. It’s like literature; for someone who doesn’t read much, it’s easier to start off with ‘The Da Vinci Code’.

And Estrella Morente’s voice in ‘Minha’...

She’s demonstrated that she has cante flamenco really under control and now she’s discovering another facet. She isn’t just a cantaora, but a singer. And I think she has one of the best voices there is in Spain.

What other projects do you have on your hands?

I’ve got several things...

Tell us, please.

I have a tour with Andrés Calamaro, of an Argentinean tango album we’ve practically done fifty-fifty, ‘Tinta roja’. The tour is with the entire Casa Limón group: Alain Pérez, José Reinoso, Piraña, Antonio Serrano and me. We’re going to do Argentinean tango, which I love. And on this album I’ve learned a lot from Argentinean tango, which is really similar to flamenco but not in its musical tendencies, but in the strength it has and in the grief it has. There are lyrics that remind me a lot of the seguiriya. It was a really nice experience for me, besides with another Argentinean guitarist, Juanjo Domínguez, one of the best at tango. An honor. Besides that, I have my presentation in Madrid and in Barcelona. And after Calamaro, I’m going with Paco de Lucía around the world. There are people who ask me what I do to change from Argentinean tango to Bill Evans, and from there to flamenco with Paco de Lucía or with Enrique Morente... And what I do is that when I’m with Paco de Lucía, I imagine that he’s the best cantaor there is and I have to accompany the best cantaor. And if I go with Calamaro, I turn into an Argentinean guitarist. And work, work, work.

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