| Martín
Guijarro, November 2006
Miguel
Poveda’s return to flamenco reveals
a fully established cantaor with an unstoppable
future. After flirting with the Argentinean tango,
Spanish copla, contemporary classical music and
even poetry in Catalan, the cantaor performs a
strictly flamenco repertoire expressly designed
for him by Huelva-born guitarist Juan
Carlos Romero. With the pretext of paying
tribute to Seville, where he set up his permanent
residence a few years ago, moving from his native
Catalonia, he delves into flamenco with poise,
flavor and elegance. Simple and without shrillness;
that is the general tone of an album which displayed
its worth in the tremendous live
premiere at Seville’s 2006 Bienal.
On vocals, Poveda shows absolute
mastery of the nuances, intensities and expressiveness,
placing his voice with good taste and musical
feeling. In the accompaniment, Romero holds out
a hand to him along a smooth, flawless road, fresh
within the traditional. The guitarist has composed
the music, and as he also did for Arcángel
on his first two albums, also many of the lyrics.
Simple, singable verses without tiring choruses
or empty aspirations. With messages so much about
life like the one sung por bulerías in
‘Como la luna en el agua’: “For
a few bucks I’m given advice, it’s
dirt cheap, I don’t even know what I want
it for”.
Bulerías, malagueñas
and abandolaos, sevillanas, soleá, bulería,
seguiriya and cabal, toná and a reference
to the copla shape up the album’s repertoire.
It includes fragments of folk and a loan, ‘Canto
de la resignación’, which Carmen
Linares had already recorded on her latest album,
‘Un ramito de locura’. Moreover, there
are first-rate appearances. Guests at the recording
are Diego
Carrasco, with whom he shares as if in a duel
the song por bulerías ‘Alfileres
de colores’; and Dorantes, who offers delightful
piano for the sevillanas ‘Y en medio del
río’. The set group of musicians
isn’t very bulky, either. Most of the time
the cante is alone with the guitar and the rest,
the clapping and jaleos ‘made in Jerez’
by Bo, Luis Cantarote and Carlos Grilo are enough,
plus the percussions by Antonio Coronel and Paquito
González. And the thing is that less is
more. A cleansing and sincerity for today’s
flamenco.
Contents
Miguel
Poveda returns to flamenco with the new album,
‘Tierra de calma’
Seville’s
2006 Bienal de Flamenco. Miguel Poveda, ‘Tierra
de calma’ (premiere). Review, photos and
online video
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