José Manuel Gómez Gufi
Diego del Morao came on saying the stage of the Berlin is like his second home, and he doesn’t intend to return until he has a new record. It’s no surprise, the club has forged its legend with many nights of music, the Wednesday jam sessions, encounters with the best guitarists and musicians of the city and some from out-of-town. We’ve seen Diego with singers and guitarists, and he has always found the sound of his music and the contrast with that of others.
And we’re in need of a new recording of Morao’s, as much as a minimum wage or “the swagger that good-looking guys have when they walk…”, and then he explained he was there to present one of his favorite guitarists, his cousin Pepe del Morao. “It’s to take the pressure off me” he said, and we noticed he was more relaxed than ever before working his magic with the guitar. First, abstraction, then rhythm with the addition of Sabu Porrina and José del Paquete on percussion.
He dedicated the siguiriyas to the father of the latter, in other words, to Juan José Suárez Paquete, and it sounded like the history of modern art (from “The Scream” of Munch, to “Guernika” of Picasso). Only “the greatest” recognize the talent of the best. It’s a pleasure to hear Diego, and that night, more so. He said he was going to recall his father (Moraíto Chico) with bulerías, and went all the way, enlarging his music, making it grow, breathing the Jerez sound which connects with the music of Mali and with that of New Orleans, in the Gnawa trance of Jimi Hendrix. But you can’t go through life listening to cool music on the cell phone, his thing is live performance, which is where bulerías turns into the best vehicle for achieving an unforgettable experience.
There was an intermission before the appearance of Pepe del Morao who came on directly from the first moment accompanied in the rhythm by a quartet of palmeros, asking for more echo on the guitar, and he did a beautiful enigmatic presentation helped by the reverb effect, but it turned against him when the piece was dominated by rhythm. That’s resolved since the time of Hendrix (as demonstrated this very week by Rycardo Moreno at the Canal theater with a bunch of effects pedals). Pepe showed he has personality, in addition to the blessings that distinguish this family. Pepe and Diego had a hasty facing-off (as if they were concerned about something else), and the thing is, the best was yet to come with David de Jacoba and Juan Antonio Salazar. The ying and the yang, day and night, power and subtlety. David began and as soon as he got under way, he showed off the shading of the singer who would later appear, the Moraos took turns in an opportune give-and-take, and then it was the turn of Juan Antonio Salazar, probably the artist who has most participated in the Wednesday jam sessions at the Berlin, along with the inventor and coordinator of the whole thing: first Diego Guerrero, and Bandolero in the last two seasons. Between one thing and another, no sooner did Salazar warm up than the flamenco miracle happened, which really made it worthwhile. The icing on the cake of a fabulous night.
Photos & videos: MJ. Lara (@mj.lara.flamenco)
