Rafael Jimenez Jimenez Cante Gitano! CD

World music has become fashionable only in the last decade—despite the fact that crosscultural music has been around for centuries. In Spain, the sounds of the Iberian Christians, the Sephardic Jews, and the Moorish invaders percolated together for hundreds of years, but it was the arrival of the gypsies in the 1700s that provided the catalyst for the evolution of a new musical style. That style is Flamenco. Today, the signature sounds of flamenco are easy to recognize; the rapidfire guitar strumming, the ecstatic hand and foot percussion, and most of all, the fiery, passionate vocals. Rafael Jiménez Jiménez is a gypsy singer who has mastered the distinctive sound of flamenco singinga style often referred to as the torn throat because of its raw, emotional impact. Cante Gitano! is a remarkable collection of original works for voice, flamenco guitar, and percussion that continues the great tradition of Flamenco while at the same time subtly extending the boundaries of the style.
>From the opening seconds of the recording, when the tabla drums of India enter, it is obvious that Cante Gitano! is part of a living heritage, not a museum piece. India, of course, is where the gypsy culture is thought to have begun; the use of Indian drums here is untraditional simply because no one had apparently thought of it before. For the most part, though, the music centers on Jiménez Jiménez and his guitarist, the redoubtable Canito. Perhaps the most striking composition on the recording is the last one, A Enrique El Mellizo, a tribute to one of the great singers of Flamenco's Golden Age in the nineteenth century. El Mellizo, the story goes, was inspired by the chants of nearby Cadiz cathedral to write his famous Malaguena. Rafael Jiménez Jiménez and a full Gregorian Choir perform a moving tribute and at the same time create a unique sonic tapestry.

Rafael Jiménez Jiménez has carved a place for himself. Unlike some of his colleagues, he has not fused or diluted Flamenco with rock, salsa, jazz, African, or classical music (all of which have been done within the past decade). But he has allowed the shrinking, crosscultural world all musicians now inhabit to color his work, without resorting to electronics or studio gadgetry. Recorded in Madrid by Juan Antonio Suarez, who cocomposed most of the music, Cante Gitano! bears the unmistakable stamp of authentic Flamenco music, and the equally unmistakable sound of that music in the twentieth century.

the artist
Rafael Jiménez Jiménez has been performing in Flamenco clubs in Spain since he was a child, including several formative years at the famed Enrique Mrente club, where he was able to meet Flamenco dancers, singers, and guitarists from Andalusia and beyond. He has toured throughout the world with several leading Flamenco dance companies. Rafael is still in his early 30s; his experiences in Spain and on the road have broadened his view of the Flamenco heritage, while he stays firmly rooted in that tradition.

tracklist
1 Viejando (Traveling) - soleá 5'15"
2 A la Tia Chata (To Tia Chata) - bulera 4'50"
3 Ponte a Pensar en mi Querer (Try To Think About My Love) - soleá por bulera 8'02"
4 Caramelito (Little Candy) - tangos 6'49"
5 Al Paso (Passage) - siguiriya 3'46"
6 An Alcalá No Reina Alegriá (There's No Joy in Alcalá) - soleá 7'18"
7 El Cuarto (The Room) - bulera 5'57"
8 El Valle (The Valley) - taranta 5'17"
9 A Enrique El Mellizo (To Enrique El Mellizo) - malaguea 3'01"
Total Time: 50'37"