Sabicas

The title is a little deceptive, I think.
I was expecting more 'fire' in the music.
It's okay, but I have been having a hard time finding anything really good to dance flamenco to.
This is the best one I have bought so far though.

1956 found me in the U.S. Navy and a fellow shipmate from Clovis, NM had two LP's of Sabicas. We listened to them for the two and a half years we spent in the USS Shangri-La. Those years made me a Sabicas fan and I was delighted to find Flamenco on Fire at Amazon. If you have never experienced Sabicas, and you love spanish quitar, then try Flamenco on Fire.

There's a wee mistake on the first track--some dead air and garbling--but aside from that the CD is really first rate. I gave it to relatives for Xmas and they were quite enthusiastic. The low price sweetens it also.

I had seen Sabicas live in Spain in the early 60th and bought his vinyl record at that time. Listening to this CD brought back fond memories and over the years his playing had improved which almost seems to be impossible.
I highly recommend this CD to anyone who is interested in authentic flamenco.

J. Hesse

It is a treat to hear Sabicas' unaccompanied guitar work, but the packaging is inexplicably careless. It's more than the problem of skipping on the first track, or its repetition. The last FIVE tracks are repetitions of earlier tracks, and the insert gives no information about the songs, their traditions, or the artist, a man with a very interesting story. The insert also only has a sadly patronizing little bit about "authentic" music, but nothing on what that this authenticity means or why it is so fascinating.

Flamenco Fiesta is a reissue of the old Elektra LP 149, Festival Gitana, recorded in the late 1950s. Elektra assembled guitarists Sabicas, his brother Diego Castellon, and Mario Escudero, singers Enrique Montoya and Domingo Alvarado, and Los Trianeros for palmas and general jaleo. While Montoya and Alvarado may not have been regarded as the most "authentic" cantaores of their era, this particular recording session, especially the interaction of the others with Montoya, evoked some of the greatest cante heard from expat "traveling troupe" flamencos. Montoya and Alvarado teamed up on several of the palos--tientos, fandangos, verdiales, fandangos de Huelva--singing alternate coplas, and thus spurring each other on to greater and greater heights of performance, in a shared realization that they were accomplishing something extraordinary. Individually, Montoya's soleares and especially his bulerias and siguiriyas are remarkable, as are Alvarado's taranta and martinete. An astonishingly fine recording by two unlikely singers, and, of course, an amazing trio of guitarists.

In the beginning singers used to sing and dancers used to dance and there was no guitar in flamenco. The guitar was added later as accompaniment. This flamenco CD is a true flamenco and Sabicas is great on the guitar as always. Those who toss CDs over the balcony because of flamenco singers, in my opinion still do not get flamenco. Great flamenco music.

Sabicas is one of the greatest flamenco guitarrists who lived. This album is exciting and his virtuosity is amazing.

This is mostly addressed to the frisbee lady.

The guitar in flamenco is the least developed part of the music. The voice is what it's all about, it's what makes it most beautiful to the soul, it's what gives it its duende. The guitar and dancing only support it. So, if you so strongly dislike "the voice", then flamenco all in all isn't for you.

I suggest you read some lectures and poetry by Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain's greatest poet. Maybe then you'll understand this music a bit better.

Flamenco guitar traditionally was used to accompany the singing(cante) and dancing(baile). There are a few Sabicas solo guitar albums out there, but this is one where he's heard in this traditional role. If you find the beautiful singing "horrible", as one reviewer did, sit down, close the blinds and listen again.

First off, this is a solo album. When I say that I mean there's no cante. However, this is a re-master of some of Sabicas's older songs. There are a couple of allegedly unreleased tracks on this album. This is hands down my favorite "solo" Sabicas album. It sounds simply great. The inlay is also worth mentioning too, it's well put together and tell's the story about how the album came to be. It may be pricey but this is a great album.

On his album Alma Flamenca, Grisha Goryachev demonstrates his wonderful virtuosity and feeling for the subject of flamenco guitar. It is a great shame that it does not seem possible to obtain his albums in this country.

Well this is a first--writing a review before hearing the CD. But wait, because all summer I listened to a recording that somebody made of Grisha's senior recital at the New England Conservatory--I listened to nothing else on my car stereo for months on end, by choice.

As a guitar builder I get to hear a great guitarist now and again. Well, I've been privileged to hear this remarkable young man for some years now and he's a delight. Even when the silverware starts rattling and he's alone in the room, Grisha plays. He loves the guitar, so that passion shines through his music.

You don't have to know anything about Flamenco to understand that Grisha is one of a kind, quintessential, jaw-dropping, finger-lickin' good. And this is his first CD. It's a no brainer. Like the other guy said, buy a bunch of these for your friends. Hell, buy a bunch of these just to encourage Grisha to make more. You won't be sorry. I'm going to go get mine now.

I searched amazon and a video site for some good Flamenco and this is just about as good as it gets. This man seems to have a really deep understanding of what he is playing and technicaly his is superb. His emotion seeps through. I gave only four stars as I think the production/editing is a little dry and I wonder if he would be better recorded live.

The guitar seems a toy in Grigory Goryachev's hands, but he treats it and its music delicately and with the utmost respect, while still maintaining that child-like penchant for fun and mischief which flamenco music sometimes requires. Soon after beginning to listen, you'll see that Grisha possesses many elements of a great musician, a rare and wonderfully honed technique, an absolutely natural sensitivity which he employs to interpret his vast and completely unique repertoire, and an adoration for and appreciation for the history of guitar music which he has been playing for so long, and that shines so clearly through this recording.

On this album, he shows us how vital the music of the traditional art form of flamenco has become, and what two of its greatest exponents have composed and how it has evolved in its solo performance entity. There are so few who are capable of playing this timeless music at his level, in fact perhaps no one else who shows us the variety that he does, invoking classical form and raw flamenco values of rhythmic and percussive expression in both styles. Grisha pays hommage to two of a dying breed of virtuoso, introspective guitarists who have created divine solo compositions with inspiration from classical composers such as Albeniz (whose music is also included here), Manuel de Falla, and their flamenco roots. He plays this Spanish music with an energy and self-awareness which easily provokes your attention among the seas of wonderful guitarists out there.

Sit back and revel in the tangible joy that Grisha is having playing with his guitar.

This album is surely one of my favourite artist cds.
It's an album full of real music, played by a extraordinary flamenco guitarist.
Grisha could give you the emotions of the spanish music just with is guitar.

Wonderfull!!

Sabicas (1912-90) was one of the greatest flamenco guitarists of the 20th century and a major influence on all his successors, most notably Paco de Lucía.

This compilation contains:

* 8 tracks from the seminal Flamenco Puro album (apparently now re-released) that made such an impact in Spain
* 4 tracks from "Flamenco Virtuoso"
* 2 tracks from "Tres Guitarras Tiene Sabicas"
* 2 tracks from "Adios a la guitarra"
* 1 track from "Flamenco!" (with Carmen Amaya)

However, several of the tracks from "Flamenco Puro" are mislabelled:

2) labelled "Ecos de la Mina" (Tarantas), is actually "Punta y Tacón " (Farruca). There is no Tarantas on the album.
7) labelled "Ecos jerezanos" (Soleá por Bulería), is actually "Aires de Triana" (Bulerías).
13) labelled "Punta y Tacón" (Farruca), is actually "Brisas de La Caleta" (Malagueñas).
15) labelled "Brisas de La Caleta" (Malagueñas), is actually "Ecos jerezanos" (Soleá por Bulería).

Apart from this, it's a good representative selection of Sabicas's playing. The total time is 64'47".

P.S. For a list of (and links to) all 20 albums in this series, see my So You'd Like To... Listen to Great Masters of Flamenco Guide.

I'm writing this review based on listening to only the samples from the album available on the Amazon site. THat may seem premature, however, I've heard most of the cuts on this record before, and back in the days when Sabicas was the king of the flamenco guitar I was one of the millions trying (and failing) to play like him, so I'm not completely without knowledge here - I studied his records.
A few of the cuts are from the greatest flamenco guitar solo album ever recorded "Flamenco Puro". This album is almost constantly out of print now. I've been trying off and on to get a copy for 20 years with no luck so far. If you can find it - buy it. If you hate it you will find someone to buy it from you. Trust me.
Numerous other cuts are duets with Diego Castilion, a man who would have been a star if he weren't the brother of Sabicas. Most flamenco duets of the era consist of one man doing his solos while a second fills in as if he were doing song accompaniment. The brothers worked out complex harmony arrangements that were to change the nature of flamenco guitar. There has been a lot of unfortunate fallout from this -- The Gypsy Kings and their 40 cd rhumba fest for example -- but when it is done right the sound is unbelievable.
The final cut is from another long out of print album with Sabicas and the great dancer Carman Amaya. This is an older recording, (early 50s possibly late 40s) so the sound is somewhat tinny, but it is a great performance. This is another one of those great albums someone should re-issue. I believe it might have been a US Decca recording though and very little of their stuff has ever re-appeared.

Sabicas or classic flamenco par excellence. How refreshing to listen to unadulterated Flamenco. No ugly background "orchestration", forget the Gipsy "King" commercial style flamenco and other tourist trap style music. This is it!

There is none and has never been one like Sabicas, and this CD brings all of the drama and beauty of his guitar to you in a way no other can approach. When you hear his tremolo, his Soleares and Farrucas, you will imagine that he has twenty fingers instead of ten. This collection is by far the best I have ever heard in the years I have been listening to Sabicas, and unsuccessfully trying to emulate his skill. VIVA SABICAS in our memories and hearts. This disk will do just that!

My day brightened significantly upon hearing Grisha play Sabicas. It's so obvious that Sabicas is a personal favourite of Grisha and how awesome that we are treated to a whole album of his music?! The guajiras in particular sent me in to fits of elation! There are very few musicians that can do this to me. Glenn Gould is one of them, Paco de Lucia another, Gerardo Nunez, Bireli Lagrene, Coltrane, Charlie Parker etc... These are all masters with incredible facility and with staunchly independent visions and deep understanding for the music which they play, be it their own or composed by others. And nevermind that Grisha has not sole ownership of this music. It really has become a part of him, having helped mould his passions for flamenco and for music in general. You see, Grisha, and the sounds he is making, represent a man at the young heights of his powers of artistic expression and that is something to behold and to celebrate. We must hope there is more to come, because this is a musician with no boundary to his ability that we've yet seen.

Speaking about the recording itself... It is an almost perfect choice of sound for the songs of Sabicas. The guitar is luminous and dry enough, not dramatically watered with reverb, but with a natural ambience which suits the earthiness of Sabicas' compositions.

Ole!

From the beautiful cover to the exquisite playing, this album is a must have for all music lovers. Overall, there's a robust old-school feel, fitting for Sabicas, and at the same time there's a sense of a re-discovery of this timeless flamenco master. The performance is world-class, capturing both virtuosity and sensitivity throughout the program. The sound of the recording is equally impressive--a beautiful guitar sound that is extremely present and musically engaging.