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Credit where credit is due
Despite his criticism, he speaks in glowing terms of those who, in his opinion,
bear the greater part of the weight of artistic responsibility: "When a guitarist
makes a recording, he has to do everything from the ground up; he has to start
with a number of styles and develop them. Singers get their material from song
writers, and are free to choose what they think are the best songs." He complains
of other situations, coinciding with players like Gerardo Núñez:
"In a theater, people are more likely to go see a singer or a dancer. I guess
they think that an hour and a half of guitar is going to be pretty boring, but
there are some great ideas out there from younger players and those of us who've
played for years in theaters." Consequently, he has set his sights on arranging
"a guitar concert that's entertaining; with changes, dance and singing; a
concert to convince people that we have to get more guitarists into the theaters.
Promoters should get the public used to seeing more guitarists. People are reluctant,
but I don't understand why. We've got to try to do it. I've got to take a shot
at it."
Ramón's future projects put his guitar in the spotlight: "I've
always played to dancers in a useful and suggestive way, and now I'm trying to
focus more on the guitar itself." Nonetheless, he plans to "make a recording
accompanying singing. When they record singing nowadays, they call in five or
six guitarists, but I want to make a recording where I do all the accompaniment.
The singer I want to do this with, El Ciervo, has got a very interesting voice,
and he's got a lot of experience." This would represent the three facets
of the flamenco guitarist "in order to round out my career," he states,
and adds, "it could provide me with some very useful experience when I eventually
start working on a guitar recording that I plan on making."
Ramón Jiménez with Juan Parrilla and
Bernardo Parrilla
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
Inspiration
This future project is already starting to come together in a very natural
way. He explains, "I've never been one to rely on a system of composition.
I'm a little different that way, but I like being different because I feel it's
more sincere. An intentional process of creation is something fictitious and it
eventually reflects that artificial approach." He offers details on his sidestepping
of such a cold and calculated approach to music: "The only things I practice
are exercises for technique. I go over the stuff that I know, and, instead of
looking for things, I just play with the guitar. When you sit down with the guitar
for a long time and make it a part of what you're doing, something eventually
comes out. I can't set out to find things. I let my inspiration guide me. When
I feel good and I'm warmed up, I just let go. When I come up with something, I
follow it and try to retain it."
Just enough limitations. This is one of the characteristics of the school of
playing he belongs to: "There's a way of playing in Caño Roto. El
Nani started it, and we're the ones that are taking it into new territory. We
base our playing on technique and investigation. We've always looked very closely
at what the guitar is doing, and that's a big part of the style." They follow
the example of their maestro: "He was a complete guitarist. He had all the
skills, and I think that those of us that have followed him have picked up those
skills." He mentions fellow players Jesús de Rosario, El Viejín,
Jerónimo, David Cerreduela, and others. "It's a varied school,"
with characteristics that distinguish it from other styles of playing. "They
used to say that players from Jerez or Andalusia had a certain way of injecting
rhythm. I set out to bring that to the Caño Roto style, and it's been a
part of it since then. I tried to expand on El Nani's approach, adding that element
that they said we were missing. I think it's there now." As an example, he
points out that Jesús de Rosario "has a strong sense of rhythm, but
also has that tendency to look closely at what he's doing and that way of seeing
things that characterizes our style. You don't see those things in other places
where guitarists are more limited."
The future of the Madrid playing style is assured: "Today, kids that are
fourteen or fifteen have got all the habits of this school of playing: studying,
lots of exercises, technique and searching, and they've got the rhythm that was
missing. I think I was the one responsible for that. It's just something that
you pick up from accompanying dance." However, there are other factors behind
the broad spectrum involved in this style: "We've always been very demanding
of ourselves and each other, rejecting ideas that weren't good enough. We've demanded
a lot of each other, and that's maintained a level of skill that we could see
in other kinds of players. But those same players have always admired our way
of playing. They'd say, 'Man, those guys have such a fast picado!'". But
these skills amount to nothing without dedicating time to practice: "Hours
and hours and hours, which lead to results, despite the sacrifice involved. He
summarizes, "The guitar is very tough and unrewarding. It takes so much and
gives nothing in return."
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