PITINGO, ‘SOULERÍA’.
PREMIERE AT MADRID’S TEATRO BELLAS ARTES
Pitingo from Pitingo
S.C. Madrid, December 12th, 2007
‘Soulería’. Singer:
Pitingo. Guitar: Juan Carmona. Flamenco
choir: Hermanas Bautista. Gospel choir: The Black Heritage
Singers of New Orleans. Percussion: Benjamín Santiago
Román, Benjamín Santiago Molina. Baile and
clapping: Simbad. Clapping: Sebastián Manzano.
Second guitar: Benjamín Bautista. Organ: Pablo
Navarro. Bass: Juan Medina. Drums: José María
Pérez. Teatro Bellas Artes. Madrid, December 12th,
2007. 9:30 p.m.
Pitingo and Juan Carmona
on 'Soulería'
(Photo Daniel Muñoz)
He’s no longer a cantaor. Nor even
a ‘soulerist’. Pitingo
is now a ‘pitinguero’. And that’s a
free, personal option of being on stage, forgetting about
the status quo... and of course, reviews. The Huelva-born
artist sometimes has to be seen as a cantaor, other times
as a singer, at times as a ‘pop star’ and
every now and then as all of them combined. All of it
in the course of the same context; ‘Soulería’.
A show which tests an apparently winning formula, at least
with regards to the box office, where tickets are sold
out. It draws a quite young generalist crowd with assets
such as the stage appeal of the artist, who has an easygoing,
up-close image, the novelty of the flamenco+soul fusion
with a gospel choir included, the selection of a repertoire
of extremely well-known songs, a former member of Ketama
on stage, the theater’s lights ready to flash, encouraging
interaction, varied choirs, audiovisuals, references to
the brand of alcoholic beverages which sponsors it, a
touch of baile... a whole bunch of things which, non-stop
and in spurts, is served throughout the show’s one
hour and a half.
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Pitingo on 'Soulería'
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
It isn’t a matter of subtleties,
but rather of making it possible for the audience to have
a good time, with a layout close to that of a musical.
And the concert turns into a purely two-way fiesta. Then
‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ is whistled,
then ‘Happy Day’ is clapped out, then ‘Killing
Me Softly’ is sung. You do have to bear in mind
that between versions and 'soulerized' versions, the Huelva-born
singer sticks in flamenco without further adornment than
some vocal spirals and without further accompaniment than
Juan Camborio on toque. And he does so through explanations
which teach a lesson, aimed at a crowd who are mostly
neophytes on the subject. That’s precisely how he
starts, with a trilla cante sung standing, “a primitive
style of flamenco cante”. But he links it up to
‘Georgia on My Mind’, just like the granaína
connects with ‘Gwendolyn’, the fandango alosnero
“is inspired by New Orleans” and the bulerías
de La
Perla are ‘Pitingo-ized’ to the extreme
of integrating variety song style versions of ‘Mammy
Blue’ and ‘Yesterday’.
But in the question of integration, fusion,
mix, or whatever you want to call the invention, there
are things that work and things that act like water and
oil in the test tube. But Pitingo keeps face at all times,
shakes up the ambience and plays the part of pasting together
the entire group, which grows in number as the concert
goes along. He brims over with generosity with the others,
sometimes even to the detriment of his vocal work, which
is irreproachable and above all, very personal. As Pitingo,
he performs perfectly.
Pitingo with Juan Carmona,
Bautista sisters and Gospel choir
(Photo Daniel Muñoz)
