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Index
To accompany, the key
From the same generation, but choosing a different
path, is the percussionist Cepillo
from Sanlúcar. The member of guitarist Gerardo Núñez's
trio is convinced that percussion has already become another
flamenco artform. The cajón is the instrument that
seems most ideal to him: “It's going to be difficult
to substitute, I mean it's halfway between a stomp of the
foot and a clap of the hands. To substitute it with a tambourine
or tablas isn't impossible, but it's more difficult. You have
to have someone beside you to play the basic rhythm.”
And he knows you have to adapt to the rules of flamenco: “Those
instruments are played differently. We limit them to certain
styles of playing, not like you should play the tabla or djembes”
within their respective original musical traditions. And he
makes a clear distinction: “The confusion arises over
the difference between being a percussionist and playing the
cajón. There are few who play the cajón well.
There's still almost nobody giving cajón classes. I
teach people my way, that doesn't mean it's the right way.
The guitar, though, has its code. And if another person gives
people classes, he'll teach them his own way. We're creating
it ourselves.” That's why he believes you have to take
special care that the cajón doesn't clash with the
natural percussion of flamenco, the hands and feet. He agrees
with Mario Cortés that “the key is to accompany
the cantaor, bailaor or guitarist. Then when Gerardo asks
me to play the solo, I play the solo. I'm not the kind of
percussionist who gets worked into a frenzy.”
Cepillo with Pablo Martín
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
Cepillo: “The
key is to accompany the cantaor, bailaor or guitarist” |
Straddling the territory between jazz and flamenco is Guillermo
McGill, a musician trained in Barcelona who began delving
into the flamenco arts alongside artists like Enrique Morente
and Rafael Riqueni. He is part of pianist Chano Domínguez's
sextet and, therefore, provides the percussion part of recording
projects like ‘Oye cómo viene’. He's also
one of the first percussionists to create an audio-visual
study method for the cajón (alongside musicologist
Faustino Núñez), which looks at the different
flamenco forms: ‘Aprende
el cajón flamenco’. In the interview included
on the DVD, McGill begins talking of the reasons the cajón
was incorporated so directly into flamenco: “It contributes
a new sound which fits discreetly with the traditional sounds;
it blends perfectly with the guitar, palmas, and flamenco
dance. And it doesn't reduce the purity of the product.”
He adds that “the greatest contribution the cajón
made to flamenco is the unadorned rhythmical phrasing, meaning
it's become a new voice within flamenco”. The musician
considers the cajón fits well “with all the rhythmical
styles, the ones that don't need the time signatures to be
elastic.” And as for flamenco dance, the modality where
its use is completely universal, he recommends “accompanying
the movement more than replicating the sound the shoe makes
on the floor.”
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Guillermo McGill: “The
cajón contributes a new sound which fits discreetly
with the traditional sounds” |
The list of flamenco cajoneros wouldn't be complete without
Chaboli,
a key player in the discography and live performances of Niña
Pastori, but also from Joaquín Cortés's early
career, working alongside Ramón Porrina and Bandolero.
Cadiz-born Antonio Coronel is a full-time member of the Eva
Yerbabuena company, and works regularly with artists like
Manolo Sanlúcar, Carmen Linares and Israel Galván.
And young cajonero Paquito González has catapulted
into the list, more and more in demand since his début
accompanying Manolo Sanlúcar. And let's not forget
the Cuban Luis Dulzaides, who worked alongside Paco de Lucía,
Ketama, Niña Pastori, Vicente Amigo, Jorge Pardo and
Chano Domínguez, among others; and Dr. Kely, Pepe Motos,
Lucky Losada, Güito... And last but not least, there’s
the youthful cajoneros from Huelva-based group Los Activos
and their counterparts in Granada the Taller de Compás
de Almanjáyar, both fruit of youth integration projects
in underprivileged neighborhoods. The flamenco cajón
offered them an artistic and professional career which has
even led to recording projects.
The history of the flamenco cajón is in its infancy.
It's only just begun and there are already artists, legends,
projects, standards, reflections, criticism, luthiers... And
a clear and bright future ahead. The instrument has awoken
the interest of aspiring young musicians who are dazzled by
the compás, the rich sound, the manageability and even
the price tag (nothing like that of a guitar). Although it
deserves to be taken as seriously as the more veteran instruments.
It deserves to show it can overcome jibes like this joke that
can be heard around Andalucía: “In the old days,
when a kid didn't want to study, his parents sent him off
to be a builder. Nowadays they just buy him a cajón”.
And no, it isn't easy, not at all. It's not just a question
of beating the thing, but of making music. And that requires
many hours of practicing, not just of the flamenco forms,
but of percussion techniques themselves. And the fact is,
as El Gali says, “it's not a question of how many beats
you can cram in - just one in the right place is enough”.
Index
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