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Those of us who live in Andalusia are lucky enough
to be able to follow the troubadours and partners
in crime Javier Ruibal and Tito Alcedo from Cadiz
on their tours of small venues, and to soak up
the warm atmosphere that can always be found at
their gigs. And to sit back and enjoy their crystalline
live performance, their beautiful poetry, their
transparent sincerity, their overwhelming personalities.
Tito Alcedo’s new release ‘Aguïta
salá’ (Salt water) goes some way
towards recreating the vivacious, sensual, colourful,
daring magic of Javier and Tito’s live shows,
as they appear true to life on the front and back
covers. An accessible, jubilant disc, as sincere
as the good man himself.
The proud native of Barbate in
Cadiz shows the qualities you’d expect to
find in someone from that region, giving off a
bright, charming aura, joie de vivre, revelling
in the music, at peace with himself. A tanguillo
rhythm stands out on three of the eight tracks:
on ‘Dame tu boca’ (Give me your lips),
one of Ruibal’s numbers which Tito plays
as an instrumental, ‘Sierra de la Plata’
(Silver mountains) where the guitarist lets loose
his concepts of Levantine harmonies, ‘Tanguillos
de Taburiente’ the opening track, leaning
towards a punchy bulería, pizzicato attacks,
a track filled with guitars, reminiscent of the
Al/John/Paco trio. The harmonies are bright and
accessible, no raucous sounds here, and on first
listening you could almost say ‘Agüita
salá’ smacked of "Mediterranean
New Age". This unblemished transparency is
especially evident on ‘Acantilado del Tajo’
(Cliffs of the Tagus) with a tango/rumba rhythm,
or perhaps a syncopated tango à la Tomatito.
As well as being a jazz guitarist,
Tito is a master of flamenco and it shows on ‘Bulería
de la Jigüela’ (an "off-key"
bulería remeniscent of ‘Piñonate’
from the ‘Solo quiero caminar’ album
by Paco de Lucía) featuring the handclaps
of José María Bandera and Diego
Amador on palmas, El Churri (100% flamenco in
his booming jaleo cheers of encouragement) and
the ever-delicate and controlled vocals of Eva
Durán. The recording oozes good vibes among
those who take part, like Javier Ruibal (vocals
and percussion), José Antonio Galicia (percussion),
Juan Gómez Galiardo and Jesús Lavilla
(keyboards), Alfonso Gamaza (bass). And there
are a couple of duets where the chemistry between
the artists really stands out: ‘Spring song’,
with Tito Alcedo and José María
Bandera side-by-side, and ‘Levantito’,
a dialogue between Tito’s acoustic flamenco
guitar and the harmonica in the hands of young
Madrileño Antonio Serrano (yes, the same
Antonio Serrano who plays with Montse Cortés
and Vicente Amigo).
And of course ‘Agüita
salá’ had to contain a hint of carnival:
a superb version for guitar of the paso doble
‘Suspiros de España’ (Sighs
of Spain) by the Álvarez brothers. Gerardo
Nuñez had a stab at this style smacking
of a bygone age on ‘Calima’; now it’s
Tito’s turn, laying down several guitars
and making them sound like a little concert orchestra
in the first part, with stepping pizzicatos over
and over for the bassline, only to later "jazz
up" the sighs à la Django Reindhart.
And there’s a flamenco twist too, which
shines through in the numerous trills of the vocalist,
and the foot-tapping rhythm inviting the listener
to get up and dance.
Last of all we have to draw attention
to Tito’s sound, shaped by wisdom and coloured
with the sounds of a good mix of guitars –
acoustic, flamenco, classical, and even a lute
for good measure on the most modal passages. Guitar
and lute-filled tracks following in the tradition
started by Paco de Lucía, later taken up
by the group Ketama and French guitarists Pascal
Gallo and Salvador Paterna. But his prowess in
flamenco and jazz techniques allows him to play
pizzicatos or strum just as easily with his fingers
as he does with the plectrum, giving a distinctive
hallmark to his pieces.
So there you have it: a must
for flamenco guitar-tasters with an educated palate. |
