The concert was recorded at the Etnosur Festival, held in Jaén in July 2004

Flamenco-world.com, November 2004

It came about as an initiative of the Etnosur Festival to give flamenco a place in its world music program and it has become a unique opportunity to see five great maestros of heterodox flamenco gather live. The DVD ‘Flamencos del siglo XXI’ (‘21st Century Flamencos’) contains a one-of-a-kind concert in which first separately and afterwards together, coming together is the trio of Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent and Tino di Geraldo; Dorantes and his group; and Diego Carrasco and his band. Moreover, the live show is completed with a ‘Making of’ with interviews of all the musicians as well as scenes from the rehearsals - subtitled in English and French -; and ‘Extras’ with the biographies and photos of each artist. The total duration is three hours. A genuine celebration of flamencos coherent with their time, of musicians who make use of freedom.

Frames from DVD 'Flamencos del siglo XXI'

“I've always liked the smile when two, three, four... artists gather”. Jorge Pardo points out in the interview of the ‘Making of’ the essence of ‘21st Century Flamencos’, the DVD that shows a one-of-a-kind concert in which Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, Tino di Geraldo, Dorantes and Diego Carrasco shake hands for the first time on stage. It happened at the Etnosur Festival in Alcalá la Real (Jaén, Spain) on July 18th, 2004, on the stage located opposite Fort La Mota. And the cameras recorded it in order to enrich the still limited flamenco videography, with the added value that none of its stars has his own DVD.

The concert is split into four parts. It starts off with the performance by the trio made up of saxophonist and flute player Jorge Pardo, bass player Carles Benavent and drummer Tino di Geraldo. The repertoire played by the group - currently finishing off their new album ‘Sin precedentes’ - consists of ‘Mi sueño eterno’, ‘Viva Cai’, ‘Diego’ and ‘Bulería’. The song ‘Gañanía’ serves as a bridge to pass on to the concert by Dorantes, performed here by the trio and the pianist.

David Peña plays ‘Silencio de patriarca’, ‘Barrio latino’, ‘Di, di, Ana’, ‘Sur’ and ‘Semblanzas de un río’, songs from his albums ‘Orobroy’ and ‘Sur’.. He is accompanied by José Valencia on cante, the string trio consisting of Alexis Lefevre, Gretchen Talbot and Rafael Fernández, Nacho Gil on wind instruments, Manuel Nieto on bass, Tete Peña on percussion and Nano Peña on drums. Pardo, Benavent and Di Geraldo come back to make the transition to the concert by Diego Carrasco. The Jerez-born guitarist, cantaor and composer reels off emblematic songs from his discography such as ‘Oliva y naranja’, ‘Alahea’, ‘Libertad’, ‘Vida y gloria’, ‘José Monje Cruz’ and ‘Nana de colores’, with his genius for dominating the stage, audience and rhythm.

The concert concludes with all the musicians up on stage, playing at communicating their music within the space of the songs by Diego Carrasco ‘Química’ and ‘Inquilino del mundo’. And all of it becomes a game, divertissement, understanding... flamenco.

‘The Making of’

As if this special lineup of musicians were not enough, the DVD contains still more ‘gifts’. On the one hand, ‘The Making of’ pushes the camera into the rehearsal room where it moreover captures scenes of the preparation for the concert, stopping to interview each artist. Dorantes, Carles Benavent, Tino di Geraldo, Jorge Pardo and Diego Carrasco speak about their respective careers, about music and about flamenco. And all of it subtitled in English and French. On the other hand, the ‘Extras’ contribute further information in the shape of texts and photos, with the biographies of each musician.

magazine@flamenco-world.com