OUTWARD COLLABORATIONS

Paseo de Gracia, Vicente Amigo

It comes in the second track of ‘Paseo de Gracia’, the latest album by Vicente Amigo. Enrique Morente’s voice sings ‘Autorretrato’, a story. In ‘Punto de encuentro’ by Cañizares, there’s a now mythical mark: ‘Fragua, yunque y martillo’. Pedro Sierra asked him permission to accompany him in a recording of his beginnings for the album ‘Nikelao’, a timeless exchange which led to ‘En mi vida’. Niño Josele played for him on his first disc ‘Las cosas de amores’. And there were other guitarists who he backed on their début albums: Juan Ramón Caro had his voice in the seguiriya ‘Chicago’ on his album ‘Rosa de los vientos’, Miguel Ochando on ‘Memoria’, Óscar Herrero on ‘Abantos’... From much earlier is ‘Casi malagueñas de la Menina segunda’ which Curro de Jerez recovered among the previously-unreleased songs on ‘Guitarra suena’. And Fraskito, a Valencia-born youth, was one of the few cantaores who had his cante at the studio: he has the maestro’s voice in ‘A Josefina’, one of the songs on his album paying tribute to Miguel Hernández ‘Tierra y sangre’, the poet who the maestro had already dared to vindicate in the early ’70s.

Enrique Morente and Niño Josele. Flamenco Festival London 2006, Sadler's Wells (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

And not only on orthodox flamenco. He left his impression on projects tangential to the genre, close to pop, to rock, to chill-out. The song ‘Respira’ on Chambao’s album ‘Con otro aire’ is proof of it. Earlier, he had taken part in ‘El tiempo va sobre el sueño’, which closes the disc ‘Túmbanos si puedes’ by La Barbería del Sur, whose members Negri and Paquete were regular collaborators of the cantaor’s. He maintained just as intense a dialogue with the Orquesta Chekara de Tetuán for years, recorded proof of which remained in the soleá por bulerías ‘Soneto X’ included both on the album 'Pablo de Málaga' by Morente, and on ‘La Chekara y el flamenco’ by the Moroccan group.

Morente with Chekara (Photo Anahí Cármody)

RETURN TRIBUTES

Enrique Morente and Israel Galván. Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

Long before his decease, there were many artists - especially young ones - who understood the need to pay tribute to Enrique Morente on their albums, unilaterally and freely… without his presence. But really, the one who began that path was Camarón de la Isla. Yes, that cantaor who many want to see as his opposite, had already recorded on ‘Arte y majestad’ the fandangos by Morente entitled ‘Ni que me manden a mí’. Camarón was a contemporary of Carmen Linares’ and, like her, somewhat younger than Morente. And like her, he looked at himself in his mirror. The cantaora continues to do so today. When he had so recently passed away, she recorded her live performance ‘Remembranzas’ at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville. Of course, she paid tribute to him: Lorca’s ‘Asesinado por el cielo’ por granaínas.

David Lagos, El espejo en que me miro

Among the multiple mirrors in which Jerez-born cantaor David Lagos was reflected in, one of them was Enrique Morente’s. And together with his brother Alfredo Lagos - who played for the maestro on numerous occasions - he composed ‘Tangos de arena’ from his debut album ‘El espejo en que me miro’. The song was inspired in the creations Morente put together for the show ‘Arena’ by Israel Galván on verses by poets such as Bergamín. And by the way, there are those who see Israel, even though he’s a bailaor, as his natural artistic heir, due to his attitude and his concepts.

Over the past year, there hasn’t been a disc which didn’t recall Enrique Morente. Young Huelva-born Jesús Corbacho dedicates the malagueña from his début album ‘Debajo del romero’ to his memory. Diana Navarro, who considers herself an enthusiast and not a cantaora, has Morente very present on her disc ‘Flamenco’: he’s her reference in the caña and in the tangos with lyrics by Leonard Cohen. The singer-cantaora admits that, out of all of today’s flamenco cantaores, “He was the only one to surprise me. What talent and what courage!”. Sandra Carrasco, acting as Javier Limón’s medium, remembers Enrique in the song ‘La calle del Olivar’, through direct mention, and in the zambra-seguiriya ‘Le pregunté yo a los cielos’, through the echo of Avishai Cohen who, according to the cantaora, is an admirer of Camarón and Morente’s.

Nacho Arimany & World Flamenco Septet (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

Guitarists also use him as a source. Vicente Amigo, on his début album ‘De mi corazón al aire’, paid tribute to his maestros. They were Manolo Sanlúcar, Paco de Lucía, Juan Habichuela, Morao… and cantaor Enrique Morente. The granaína on the disc was called simply ‘Morente’. But not just cantaores and guitarists feel they are Morente’s followers, rather also instrumentalists who tackle flamenco from other musical perspectives. Percussionist and composer Nacho Arimany included ‘Homenaje a Morente’ as the second cut on his album ‘Silence-light’, recorded in New York with musicians like cantaor Antonio Campos (who mentions him por malagueñas on his disc ‘Corral del Carbón’) and jazz guitarist Lionel Loueke, among others. We saw him hand a copy of it, with humble respect, to Enrique following the recital presenting ‘Pablo de Málaga’ at the Reina Sofía Museum. And going further are members of the groups Lagartija Nick (with whom he made the legendary album ‘Omega’) and Los Planetas, founding the band Los Evangelistas which introduced itself at Córdoba’s 2011 White Night of Flamenco and is scheduled to repeat at Barcelona’s 2012 De Cajón! Flamenco Festival. Rock artists are such admirers of Morente’s - many of whom he converted to the jondo art - that even the magazine ‘Rolling Stone’ has devoted its latest prizes to him.

LIVE ECHOES

Marina Heredia, fandangos de Morente (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

And if his steps are followed at the studio, they are followed nearly more so live. In the past season, many recitals by cantaores of the generation which he captivated turned into touching tributes to Enrique Morente, directly or indirectly, explicitly or tacitly. Tears streaming down her face, Marina Heredia sang fandangos by Morente in her performance at the Circo Price closing the 2011 CajaMadrid Flamenco Festival, entirely dedicated to Enrique Morente scarcely two months after his death. And at the start of that same program, Miguel Poveda also paid tribute to him. But the one who took the feeling and concept to the limit was his dear Carmen Linares, who on the same stage, standing alone beside a piano, offered ‘Casida del sediento’ by Miguel Hernández to him.

The tribute by Arcángel, one of his closest followers, has been constant. And it materialized as such in the recital which, together with Miguel Ángel Cortés on guitar, he offered at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam in the setting of Dutch Flamenco Biennial 2011. It isn’t in one cante, but in all of them. Not obvious, but from within. A show also premiered there which later was expressly dedicated to Morente in its presentation at the Teatro Real in Madrid in the setting of Suma Flamenca 2011. It was the “spectral flamenco” show by contemporary composer Mauricio Sotelo, ‘Muerte sin fin’... such an heir to his echoes. But out of all of his footsteps, the ones most deeply entrenched are the ones followed by Estrella Morente, his daughter, his follower, his heiress. That concert at the Teatros del Canal in Madrid - in which she announced part of that unfinished production which the maestro left her as an upcoming album - was her rebirth after mourning, the exorcism of her grief. And it was sure that now the roles are reversed: now he is the guiding light. Now Enrique Morente is the star or ‘estrella’ that leads the way.

POSTHUMOUS RELEASES

Estrella and Enrique. Frame from 'Morente'

Enrique Morente was one of those artists who was always working when he got inspired. And death surprised him thus. Besides the production of Estrella’s upcoming album, he was working on the documentary directed by Emilio Ruiz Barrachina about his last live album based on Picasso’s friendship with his barber, Eugenio Arias. Some of his last concerts were recorded for the film, among them, the one that had to be postponed due to rain in Buitrago de Lozoya in the setting of Suma Flamenca 2010 and the one at the Liceu in Barcelona within the 2nd Catalunya Arte Flamenco. Encounters took place as special as the one he shared with his children Estrella, Soleá and Kiki at the Bañuelo in Granada, as well as strolls around his neighborhood of Albaicín, cantes in front of the ‘Guernika’ at the Reina Sofía Museum and the chilling studio recording of ‘Ángel caído’ by Antonio Vega. With its title reduced to ‘Morente’, the film premiered posthumously last April and since then, the soundtrack as well as the DVD and Blu-ray have been released. A cut by Enrique Morente has also just appeared, specifically his ‘Nana de la cebolla’ from 1971, on the collective disc ‘Cantares. Los artistas flamencos cantan a Serrat’. Some of his cantes and creations are compiled on albums of this sort, as on ‘Flamenco & son’, on ‘Neruda en el corazón’ and also in the movie ‘Flamenco’ by Carlos Saura, which includes the seguiriya he sang together with Cañizares… and which the guitarist remembers “as if it were yesterday”. His impressions are that lasting.

Morente with Cañizares 'Flamenco de Carlos Saura'

Further information

All about Enrique Morente at Flamenco-world.com

Special feature. Morente Frenchified, by Balbino Gutiérrez

Special feature. Enrique Morente, premiere of the film'Morente, el barbero de Picasso'

Special feature. Enrique Morente, by José Manuel Gamboa

Special feature. Maestro Enrique Morente, as if it was yesterday... by Cañizares

Special feature. Enrique Morente, obituary. Beyond cante