He came and
he went leaving a legend in his wake, one of many this art of flamenco
has yielded. We’re told he now roams the streets of Huelva playing
a beat-up guitar, getting by on coins from passers-by. Who knows. The
fact is, just one year ago he had a rare artistic rebirth no one ever
expected. He played fandangos from his home town on a group recording.
But more significantly, he once again went up on stage as a professional
at Seville’s Sala Joaquín Turina. Those of us who were lucky
enough to be there, and to feel the force of this playing although we
weren’t old enough to have lived through the guitarist’s best
years, will never forget that night. Niño Miguel, dark and worn,
doubled over a borrowed guitar, pulled one amazing variation after another
out of the instrument. One solid hour alone on stage. Then he got up and
left, possibly forever.
LA GUITARRA DE NIÑO MIGUEL
1. Vals flamenco – vals
2. A mi padre – farruca
3. Vinos y caballos – bulerías
4. Recuerdo de la Virgen del ¨rocío
5. Potpurri – Orgullo, Morerías, El Conquero
6. Brias de Huelva – fandangos
7. Entre Mazagón y Sanlúcar – alegrías
8. En el puente Nicoba – soleá
9. Mi sentimiento – rumba
DIFERENTE
10. Diferente – rumba
11. Desde el condando – bulerías
12. Recuerdos – bulerías por rondeña
13. Sueños de la Alhambra – medias granaínas
14. Minas de Riotinto – tarantas
15. lamento – vals flamenco
16. en el tablao – zapateado
17. Embrujo y magia – zambra
18. Los pescadores – farruca
19. Cuevas de la joya – rumba
Now we have the most tangible part of that myth, that legendary guitarist.
A musician whose life was destined to resemble the plot of a movie. The
son of Miguel el Tomate, Niño Miguel, though born in Huelva, hails
from Almería and is in fact the uncle of Tomatito and Niño
Josele. Norberto Torres (who has long helped me learn to enjoy flamenco
guitar) tells us how Tomate left Almería: “he ran away with
his lover, abandoning his wife and children”. Fruit of the new couple
living in Huelva, is the hero of our story. The legend continues with
the first shaky notes played on a guitar along with his father as they
went in search of work in the bars and streets of Huelva. Suddenly, one
day, fame came knocking: as a result of his victory in the guitar contest
of Los Cernícalos, Niño Miguel made two records (1975 and
1976) with Philips, the same label that has produced the current edition.
Nevertheless his instability soon took him away from the stage. And yet
the mark of his playing is present in current guitarists like Rafael Riqueni,
Paco de Lucía, Raimundo and Rafael Amador, Javier Conde and the
above-mentioned nephews of his.
That’s the plot. Now comes the legend part: firstly, the “Vals
Flamenco”, an original of “casa Miguel”. A guitar which
is both daring and intimate at the same time, technically clean, bravely
expressive. Certainly without the orchestra it would sound even more authentic.
The melody itself, almost naked on the base strings. A rich rhythmic piece.
Because rhythm is the characteristic element of this gypsy guitarist.
The music, the variations, flow from his hand with a great natural quality,
as water from a fountain. The bulerías, with frenzy appropriate
to the era, and the incessant clicking of palmas, project Niño
Miguel’s guitar to another realm. Also the rumba, like the one that
lends its name to the second record, “Diferente” (1976), of
the hummable variety popularized by Paco de Lucía in “Entre
Dos Aguas”. It’s no coincidence Paco’s brother and father
participate in both pieces, the first, Ramón de Algeciras as second
guitar, and the second, Antonio Sánchez, the father, as producer
(though he isn’t credited on this record). An exuberant piece of
melody and frenetically plucked runs, very characteristic of flamenco
guitar in that era. That’s not the only rumba included in the re-edition:
“Cuevas de la Joya” and “Mi Sentimiento” follow
the same pattern.
In the soleá as well Niño Miguel tends towards the rhythmic
approach as opposed to the solemnity of today’s interpretations.
An uninterrupted succession of direct lyrical falsetas, clear in their
concept and emotional thrust. Plenty of “ligados” and base
notes. The landscape of a beautiful and bewildered soul where rhythm is
always on the surface and barges in like a stranger. Without a doubt,
the most poetic piece of the record.
Needless to say, the fandangos de Huelva are bursting with life. No way
to fit more emotion in fewer measures. When in doubt, Miguel goes for
a wealth of notes.
That said, Niño Miguel is also capable of shining brightly in
the free-form styles. The granaína on this record is excellent
in the way it combines classic form with personal creativity. Voluptuous
and brilliant, characteristic of that rarefied time for flamenco guitar
that was the nineteen-seventies. Miguel lives the rhythm in his veins,
and even manages to translate it to this apparently free form.
All that can be said falls short, it’s only the beginning. Alegrías,
tarantos, zambras, zapateados, etc And begin all over again. Seventy-eight
minutes of music was all the young man from Huelva needed to go down in
the history of this art. And here you have it…
