Juan Martin
The Blue Lounge in the Floral Pavilion provided an intimate venue for a solo concert by Juan Martin.
With a simple black backdrop and lighting of yellow and red (replicating the colours of Spain’s flag), Juan introduced himself and was straight into the first of several numbers that ranged from soulful and heart-rendering to rhythmic and uplifting.
Juan explained each of the performances, the region from where the particular style of flamenco guitar originated from, and something about the music itself. It was so interesting to find out that some of this music does not herald from the traditional areas you would imagine, for example Barcelona, which came as a surprise.
I am obviously late to the party here, as Juan began busking under 40 degrees heat many moons ago, but now I feel privileged to be listening to this expert player.
We listened to Rumba flamenco, developed in Andalusia, which was upbeat, with a little Gypsy Kings style, and then heavier longer interludes of guitar playing with a little melody, the Polo and a unique style, and although some pieces were up to eight minutes long, the time flew by. It was mesmerising, almost hypnotic. He is an absolute master of the fretboard: the speed of the fingering and the strength of the flamenco strumming patterns were just incredible.
There was then a short break, and we made sure we purchased one of the CDs on sale then back to enjoy the second half.
If you closed your eyes, you could have been there in Spain. In one of the regions that Juan told us about, his hometown of Ronda, a mountain-top city in Spain’s Malaga province, perhaps. Feeling the sun on your face, the smell of olive groves and the sipping of red wine, we were truly transported to that beautiful country.
Juan has recently released a four-disc CD collection, with two discs devoted to pure flamenco, and with the remaining two including other genres that we were lucky enough to hear. I particularly enjoyed the Middle Eastern, Moorish style of music.
Juan was so humble when he told us how he was invited to Picasso’s 90th birthday tribute to play a solo recital from his “Picasso Portraits”, and he was funny telling us about his appearance on Top Of The Pops to play the theme to The Thornbirds.
This apostle of the flamenco tradition and celebrated virtuoso of the flamenco guitar delighted the audience with his mesmeric guitar work and charming personality, and if I could play a guitar, I would definitely attend one his workshops and masterclasses, but I don’t, so I will just listen in awe!
I can only imagine how brilliant it would be to see Juan accompanied by traditional flamenco dancers, palmas handclapping and cante flamenco (singing).
Summing this up, Juan Martin provided wonderful entertainment, and his show is an absolute must-see.
Overall Rating: 10/10 – Perfect
