Jorge Miguel
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | INDIE | AFM
Music
Press
"Passion" is a word that applies to the latest work by Jorge Miguel, to the music and to his commitment to explore the roots of the tradition and to find within that depth the seeds of new possibilities for the ancient art
of Flamenco.
- Jowi Taylor - CBC's Global Village
The Jorge Miguel Flamenco Ensemble is coming to the Harrison Festival of the Arts, closing out the 10-day smorgasbord of music, poetry, drama, markets and kids activities.
Jul 12 2007
Jorge Miguel is “perfectly content” in not reaching a huge market. The guitarist is more concerned with perfecting his techniques.
Or more appropriately, flamenco’s techniques.
“It’s a discipline. It’s an art,” he says, one that takes a lifetime to perfect.
“It’s extremely demanding, technically. It’s seductive,” he says. Once a guitarist makes the choice to study flamenco, there really is no looking back.
And there never really is a sense of completion when learning the Spanish style of playing, he says.
Even the greats have moments when, if the conditions aren’t right, they’ll refuse to play.
“I’ve seen the best artists in the world struggle with flamenco. I saw Paco deLucia at the Massey,” he recalls. “And after one song, he stopped the show, saying ‘I can’t play in this chair.’”
A series of chairs were brought out for the musician, but he eventually brought out his own, sat down and continued to play.
“That’s flamenco,” Miguel says, referring to the drama.
But it’s flamenco in style, too. A traditional flamenco artist will sit to play, using five fingers along nylon strings of his or her guitar.
And typically, a flamenco will not stay in the spotlight too long.
Flamenco music is about supporting each person on stage. The band, the dancers and at some points, the guitarist.
“I don’t expect anyone to sit and listen to just me and my guitar for a whole night,” he says. “I love the guitar, but I love the dance and I love the song. When we are improvising and communicating, I’m in heaven. I forget I’m on stage.”
The Jorge Miguel Flamenco Ensemble is coming to the Harrison Festival of the Arts, closing out the 10-day smorgasbord of music, poetry, drama, markets and kids activities.
His July 15 show (Harrison Memorial Hall @ 7:30 p.m.) will give Miguel the chance to do what he likes best of all.
“Taking flamenco out to people is really important to me,” he says. “Flamenco provides for me and I give back. It’s reciprocal.”
Other acts at the Harrison Festival of the Arts to catch this week are Bill Bourne and Guests, Donne Roberts Band, Los Munequitos de Matazas and Beolach - Black Press - By Jessica Murdy
"Authentic Flamenco turns River Run upside down"... "his playing and improvising were nothing short of fantastic"
Sheila O'Hearn
The Fergus-Elora Express
- Sheila O'Hearn, The Fergus-Elora Express
Passionate and fiery flamenco
I really like this c.d. I have been studying Flamenco dance since last year. While I love modern Flamenco music, it is difficult to dance to. I am happy to be able to "hear" a tango or buleria and count out the rhythm. This is the real thing.
Lorraine
Hot & Smooth, you want to stop in traffic and dance
I like the sound of old style flamenco . Jorge has a great way to blending modern ideals with the magic of the classic guitar. Hot and Smooth, I wanted to jump out of my car in traffic and dance!
Anne - From CDBaby.com
My introduction to Jorge Miguel was low key. I was in my office, trying to figure out a particular bug that I was experiencing, and a friend dropped by, slightly breathless, and said, “Come with me right now!” I hopped up and went with him, with no explanation, and had a problem keeping up. He exited the building and walked into the building right across from it. In the foyer, there was Jorge Miguel with a dancer to accompany him, playing an acoustic flamenco guitar to a group of staff and students.
Wow.
Turns out it was a promotional stunt for a concert that he was playing later that night at the River Run Centre. We managed to procure for ourselves some tickets (to a sold out show, because we’re well connected), and attended. It was an absolutely brilliant concert featuring the artists from his most recent recording; here they are as listed in the liner notes of “Flamenco”, his most recent album.
Jorge Miguel • flamenco guitar
Paul Donat • double bass
Daniel Stone • percussion and palmas
Eliana Cuevas • vocals
Ilse Gudino • dance
Pam Briz Guijarro • castanets
Daniel Stone is probably the one most responsible for making your hips want to move, and they will definitely want to move. I am certainly not a dancer, but listening to this music makes me want to become one; dance is an integral part of the experience. Paul Donat is a fantastic double bass player, keeping up with Jorge and the dancers with ease, even in the few songs that he uses his bow. Jorge surrounds himself with top quality musicians, but he is still the one who amazes me most.
I am a fairly accomplished musician, and I’ve played the guitar since I was 14; I could probably make a fair wage as a session guitarist if I wanted. Next to Jorge I sound like a 5 year old who has picked up a guitar for the first time. He has an incredible understanding of tonality, and his fingers are just so much quicker than I think mine will ever be, transitioning through scales and chords with blinding speed. His movement up and down a fretboard makes me weep a little bit. Listening to his album, you get an idea of what his hands are doing, but seeing him play live you come to understand the mastery that he has over his instrument.
If you’ve never heard Jorge Miguel, track down some of his music. Plaza de Asdrubal (Bulerias) and Torontorías (Tangos) are personal favourites of mine, but all his songs are great. You can find more information about him at JorgeMiguel.com. - Right Brain / Music
My introduction to Jorge Miguel was low key. I was in my office, trying to figure out a particular bug that I was experiencing, and a friend dropped by, slightly breathless, and said, “Come with me right now!” I hopped up and went with him, with no explanation, and had a problem keeping up. He exited the building and walked into the building right across from it. In the foyer, there was Jorge Miguel with a dancer to accompany him, playing an acoustic flamenco guitar to a group of staff and students.
Wow.
Turns out it was a promotional stunt for a concert that he was playing later that night at the River Run Centre. We managed to procure for ourselves some tickets (to a sold out show, because we’re well connected), and attended. It was an absolutely brilliant concert featuring the artists from his most recent recording; here they are as listed in the liner notes of “Flamenco”, his most recent album.
Jorge Miguel • flamenco guitar
Paul Donat • double bass
Daniel Stone • percussion and palmas
Eliana Cuevas • vocals
Ilse Gudino • dance
Pam Briz Guijarro • castanets
Daniel Stone is probably the one most responsible for making your hips want to move, and they will definitely want to move. I am certainly not a dancer, but listening to this music makes me want to become one; dance is an integral part of the experience. Paul Donat is a fantastic double bass player, keeping up with Jorge and the dancers with ease, even in the few songs that he uses his bow. Jorge surrounds himself with top quality musicians, but he is still the one who amazes me most.
I am a fairly accomplished musician, and I’ve played the guitar since I was 14; I could probably make a fair wage as a session guitarist if I wanted. Next to Jorge I sound like a 5 year old who has picked up a guitar for the first time. He has an incredible understanding of tonality, and his fingers are just so much quicker than I think mine will ever be, transitioning through scales and chords with blinding speed. His movement up and down a fretboard makes me weep a little bit. Listening to his album, you get an idea of what his hands are doing, but seeing him play live you come to understand the mastery that he has over his instrument.
If you’ve never heard Jorge Miguel, track down some of his music. Plaza de Asdrubal (Bulerias) and Torontorías (Tangos) are personal favourites of mine, but all his songs are great. You can find more information about him at JorgeMiguel.com. - Right Brain / Music
Discography
Guitarra Flamenca/Flamenco Guitar, 2012
Flamenco, 2004
Agua Clara, 1998
Photos
Bio
Flamenco is one of the oldest forms of world music inhabiting the contemporary performing arts- passionate, fatalistic music that has deep roots in Andaluca in southern Spain. It has three key elements- the guitar or toque, the song or cante and the dance or baile. Jorge Miguels mission is to offer the flamenco tradition through the fingers, voice and feet of an ensemble committed to its authentic spirit. Jorge Miguel is a Spanish Canadian guitarist and composer from Toronto. His family comes from Cadiz, a city in the flamenco heartland and he has spent much time living and studying there. Flamenco is best learned from the elders and Jorges teachers included some of the best- Carlos del Rio in Madrid, Augustin Bola Carbonell in Seville and other veterans.
Jorge Miguels style of Flamenco is full contact, hard-core. This is the real thing. Alegrias, Bulerias, Tangos and Sevillanas, the traditional songs and dances passed down through the generations after hundreds of years of development and growth. The arpeggios, rasgueados and alzapua of the Flamenco guitar, the escobillas, zapateado and llamadas of the Flamenco dancers, the cante jondo and chico of the Flamenco song, and the palmas, castanets and percussion driving the complex compound rhythms.
To realize his vision Jorge has drawn from Torontos finest flamenco aficionados- singers who have immersed themselves in the tradition, and percussionists and bassists who are at home in many musical styles and bring Latin and jazz influences to the table as well as a deep knowledge of the flamenco ritmo. Flamenco is only partly about music. Flamenco without dance is like Andaluca without sun and Jorge works with several dancers trained in the best schools of Seville and Jerez, absorbing the tradition while grafting new shoots onto old roots. Together Jorge Miguel and associates create new music that both takes flamenco somewhere new and preserves its duende- an untranslatable Spanish word that means spirit or soul. Ol!
Band Members
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