ME VOY A ALEJAR DE TI

Dedicado a alguien a quien alguna vez quise, aunque eso haya sido erróneo.

Me voy a alejar de ti
No necesito tu cara
No necesito tu amor
Pero sobretodo, no te necesito.

Copyright 2009 Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.

EL ARTE DE AMAR Y AMAR EL ARTE

Los artistas somos bendecidos con algo de duende, con mucho duende. Para mí, el duende es nuestro amor por lo que hacemos y la magia que transmitimos al compartirlo con los que nos rodean. Es un amor que conforma nuestro ser, nuestra esencia. Es lo que nos hace honestos, sinceros, pero sobretodo, generosos. Para nosotros, cantar ante un público de cinco es lo mismo que cantar ante cincuenta mil: lo hacemos con la misma pasión, con el mismo ánimo, con el mismo respeto y aún mejor, con el mismo sentido de compromiso, de comunidad. Es una sensación que nos dice que hay que unificar el mundo, y que lo podemos hacer a través de nuestro arte, es decir, a través de nosotros mismos. Amamos lo que hacemos y hacemos lo que amamos. Eso es lo mejor, como alguna vez dijo Ana Belén, “de este largo viaje con el que hemos pretendido cambiar el mundo, pero solamente hemos conseguido que el mundo no nos cambie a nosotros.” Ese es el arte de amar y el amar el arte, es decir, amarnos y aceptarnos tal como somos, y no cambiarnos por nada.

Copyright 2009 Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.

EL POETA FLORECERÁ

El poeta florecerá
Cuando la lluvia deje de caer,
Y el poeta morirá
Cuando las flores dejen de oler.

El poeta florecerá
Cuando el mendigo pare de pedir,
Y el poeta morirá
Cuando el rico no lo pueda recibir.

El poeta florecerá
Cuando el mundo se muera por amor,
Y el poeta morirá
Cuando al vivir todos muestren su horror.

El poeta florecerá
Cuando la vida pare sin pasar,
Y el poeta morirá
Cuando la vida pase sin parar.

El poeta florecerá
Cuando los niños comiencen a crecer,
Y el poeta morirá
Cuando el adulto deje de crecer.

El poeta florecerá
Cuando el libro se deje leer,
Y el poeta morirá
Cuando al libro lo dejen de leer.

Porque la poesía vive,
Como cualquier persona,
Y sufre,
Como cualquier llorona.

Porque el poeta vive,
Vive de palabras que ojalá tú, al sentarte a leer,
Las conviertas en palabras,
Que ojalá algún día, me puedas ofrecer.

Copyright 2009 Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.

AMÉ Y FUI AMADO

Dedicado a Vinícius De Moraes.

¿Fuiste digno?
No, no fui digno.
¿Fuiste inmoral?
No, no fui inmoral.
¿Fuiste sabio?
Sí, sí fui sabio.

¿Te devolviste a la realidad?
No, volví a ser real.
¿Dijiste alguna mentira?
No, yo era la mentira.
¿Amaste?
Sí, amé y fui amado.

Copyright 2009 Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.

REFLEXIONES SOBRE KIND OF BLUE DE MILES DAVIS

Creo que la primera vez que oí a alguien hablar del álbum Kind Of Blue fue en una entrevista en la que a Walter Becker[1], bajista y cofundador de la banda Steely Dan, le preguntaban cuál era su álbum favorito, y respondió que era éste. En ese momento, no tenía ni idea de que éste disco era de Miles Davis (y mucho menos de otros grandes como John Coltrane y Bill Evans), y si sabía algo de Miles era que éste era un trompetista que le gustaba tanto a Richard Gere como a Julia Roberts en la comedia romántica Novia Fugitiva. Luego, cuando comencé a oír la música de Chick Corea, supe que Miles había sido pionero de la fusión, pero durante muchos años ignoré su música. Cuando por fin comencé a escuchar a Miles fue a través de éste disco, uno lleno de temas con connotaciones autobiográficas para mí.

El primer tema que oí de Miles es el que abre el álbum, “So What”. Sin embargo lo oí de una manera muy distinta: tocándolo yo mismo. Cuando mi fascinación con Miles - en particular con ésta canción – yo me encontraba comenzando como baterista de la primera agrupación de jazz en la que toqué, la banda de jazz del Colegio Nueva Granada, llamada la CNG Jazz Band. En mi primer ensayo con ellos, recuerdo haber pasado por temas de la talla de “Maiden Voyage” de Herbie Hancock, “Take The ‘A’ Train” de Duke Ellington y “Blue Bossa” de Kenny Dorham entre otros. Sin embargo, cuando llegamos a esta canción, sentí una extraña sensación de familiaridad con lo que estaba escuchando, aunque no lo conocía. Luego me dí cuenta que los famosos acordes del comienzo de la canción habían sido fuente de inspiración para varias canciones de hip-hop y de Acid Jazz. De ahí mi asociación y mi inmediato gusto por la canción. Luego, estudiando historia del jazz en los Estados Unidos, descubrí otra gran versión por Miles junto a Ron Carter, George Coleman, Tony Williams y Herbie Hancock, grabada en vivo en 1964. Aunque ésta era mucho más explosiva y 'hot' que la original, el sentimiento que me generaba seguía siendo el mismo, y fue por eso que me dí cuenta que, musicalmente, “So What” se presta para todo tipo de situaciones.

Días después de haber ensayado “So What” con la CNG Jazz Band por primera vez, me encontraba sentado frente al piano en la casa de un amigo, improvisando sobre cualquier progresión de acordes que escuchara, tanto en mi cabeza como en mis oídos. Mi amigo me puso su copia de Kind Of Blue. Improvisé en “So What”, pero luego escucharía otro tema que me llamó la atención: “Freddie Freeloader”. Esta vez lo que se me hizo atractivo fue la progresión de las notas en la melodía principal; sentía como si estuvieran caminando una detrás de la otra, inclusive cayéndose encima a veces. Años más tarde, la monté con la CNG Jazz Band, y cada vez que tocábamos la melodía en ensayos, cantaba yo una versión con letras que decía algo como lo siguiente: “Fre-ddie, Fre-ddie/Don’t go/Fre-ddie/Unpack your bags and stay…” Esa ha sido mi relación con Freddie durante varios años.

Cuatro meses después de haber escuchado "So What" y "Freddie Freeloader" por primera vez, finalmente pude comprar para mí una copia de Kind Of Blue. Sobra decir que escuché con mucha frecuencia los primeros dos cortes del disco, pero cuando llegué al tercero, “Blue In Green”, me sentí transportado. Aún me siento así con solamente pensar en esa canción. Cuando la escucho, me siento arrullado, siento que la noche es oscura y que hay nieve, inclusive un poco de lluvia. No me dan ganas de salir a ningún lado, y con ésta pieza para acompañarme en casa, no quiero ir a ningún lado. Inmediatamente me siento en paz, a veces un poco triste, pero calmado, de una manera en la que solamente la Bossa Nova y música tan linda como ésta logran calmarme.

La cuarta canción del disco es tal vez la siguiente más famosa después de “So What”, “All Blues”. Es una forma blues interesante, que se vuelve muy pegajosa gracias a la siguiente progresión melódica: SI, DO, RE, SI, SI, DO, RE, SI… Tan pegajosa es que ha sido tocada por varios grandes desde Tito Puente (quien la hizo en un memorable arreglo de Latin Jazz en tiempo de 6/4), y Stevie Wonder (quien la hizo en el tiempo original, pero con cierto sabor de reggae).

“Flamenco Sketches” seguramente fue una de las impulsoras que luego llevarían a Miles y al gran arreglista Gil Evans a crear una de sus mejores colaboraciones juntos, el también clásico trabajo Sketches Of Spain, en el cual tocaron fragmentos del Concierto de Aranjuez de Joaquín Rodrigo, inspirando a futuras generaciones de artistas como Chick Corea, Chano Domínguez, Michel Camilo y Carlos Santana entre otros, con ésta canción como predecesora de la fusión entre la música española, la música latina y el jazz.

Teniendo en cuenta las anteriores explicaciones, debo decir que Kind Of Blue es un disco que me habla en todos los sentidos de la palabra: teniendo grandes canciones y increíbles melodías, además de grandes anécdotas para acompañarlas en mi caso, para mí, éste es verdaderamente un álbum autobiográfico.

[1] Entrevista incluida en el video del año 2000 Steely Dan’s Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party.

Copyright 2009 Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.

BAHIA SOLANO: A MUSICAL TRIP TO AFRICA AND BEYOND

My name is Emilio Sánchez. I won’t describe what you already know about me (you all know I’m tall, I wear glasses, etc.) I will directly talk about the one thing that has always marked me: music. But I won’t speak about any music…I will refer directly to the music whose roots lie in Africa. I believe that most of the music that I like to play, dance to or listen to comes originally from Africa. And every time I get involved with it, I feel like I am coming close to the mother of most of the wonderful music that has graced my life. Bahia Solano was an approximation to these roots which I am very proud of; through the Chirimía music, I danced and I played, giving homage to Africa and to the musical formation that it has given to many. I am not the only one who has embraced his African roots through music. Countless artists and musical styles have directly experimented with them.

I. AFRICA AND ITS GLOBAL MUSICAL INFLUENCE

I’d like to begin with a kind of music that our grandfathers have told us about. It is Jazz, a music that was invented by African-American slaves in the United States, through the sad, melancholic songs that they would sing while working in the cotton plantations in Georgia.

Next comes a musical name that has been very popular for years. It is Salsa – actually a term that was used to revise all Cuban music outside of Cuba after the Castro revolution. (Cruz 118) It is through percussion that salsa has an African root. In the song “Qué Rico Suena Mi Tambor” by the Fania All-Stars, the singer Ismael Miranda attributes the groove of percussion to all Latin American countries and to Africa: “A todos los paises latinoamericanos… ¡África, por poco se me olvidaba!…aquí va mi tambor.” (“To all Latin American countries…I almost forgot Africa! Here goes my drum!”) In his tune “Marruecos”, Colombian singer Yuri Buenaventura says: “Gracias por lo que me enseñas, Africa…la salsa en nuestros corazones para ti.”(“Thank you for what you teach me…the Salsa in our hearts for you.”)

These are some of the musical styles that are African in their origin. However, there are several non-African artists who have approached African music and fused it with their own particular styles. Here are a few of them:

The first clear example lies in the music of legendary Rhythm & Blues/Funk band Earth, Wind & Fire , users of the Kalimba , an instrument that is actually a kind of piano played with the thumbs, being an adaptation of the elder Mbira ("Kalimba"). The instrument was discovered by the group’s founder Maurice White, who talks about his discovery in the song “Kalimba Story”.

Stevie Wonder has also had contact with Africa through his music. Perhaps the clearest example lies in a song that was written in three languages, “Ngiculela-Es Una Historia-I Am Singing”, in which the first part is written and sung in Zulu. Wonder has also initiated other artists in African music, especially through the tune “A Time To Love” , written and sung as a duet by India.Arie and himself, with a massive percussion finale, also featuring a soft guitar played by Sir Paul McCartney.

There are artists who have been influenced by Africa even through the music that it gave to the region of Chocó. Venezuelan singer Maria Rivas has experimented with the popular rhythm of Mapalé through a song named after this dance, which is always performed by a man and a woman, using erotic movements, very African in their origins. In the lyrics, Rivas sings to these movements by saying: “Por eso yo pido que, y cada vez que quieras tú, y pal’ baile’el Mapalé, sea siempre con marido, y el hombre con su mujer.” (“For this I ask that when we dance the Mapalé, the dance always be with [my] husband and the man with his woman”).

But there is one artist to whom I owe the inspiration for this project. It is the great brazilian singer and songwriter Djavan. Born in Alagoas, he was always close to Africa. In 1980, he travelled to Angola for a closer contact with his roots – this trip was actually what gave me the main motivation for this project – and later returned to Brazil to record the 1981 album Seduzir, where his journey is clearly present in three tracks: the original composition “Luanda” , and a medley of two songs from Angola, “Nvula Ieza Kia” and “Humbiumbi” . In 1986, Djavan recorded South Africa’s national anthem, “Nkosi Sikelei’ I-Afrika” - or “God Bless Africa” in English - and “So Bashiya Ba Hlala Ekhaya”, an anthem of South Africa’s youth.

So, keeping in mind those who have been influenced by Africa, and Djavan’s trip to Angola, I decided to do something similar in Bahia Solano.


II. MY WORK IN BAHIA SOLANO

In Bahía Solano, I was exposed to a local music known as Chirimía. It came to my attention that the band playing it was quite simple: just a saxophone and a few percussion instruments (most notably the tamboura and the snare drum). The music gave out good energy in the tradition of African Music. After the first performance, I interviewed Bismark Lopez, the band’s tamboura player.

INTERVIEW WITH BISMARK LOPEZ

1) Which do you consider the most important rhythm of this region, historically or musically, and why?

Note: When I asked him this question, by “rhythm”, I actually meant genre, so he answered differently to what I was expecting, and then I asked him the question using the word “genre” itself. Here are both of the answers he gave me.

A: The rhythm of dance. It is very energetic and it makes you happy.

B: The most important musical genre is chirimía. It is the region’s music.

2) If you were to define the musical heritage that Africa gave us through one instrument, which one would you cheese and why?

The maracas. They are an instrument that expresses a lot of feeling when well played. They practically say things clearly and they make you feel that you want to express a lot.

3) Do you think there is currently an artist who represents the roots that are from Chocó and the afro-colombian roots through his music?

There was one who they used to call “Chano”. He was a Chirimía singer.

4) Which are your main musical influences?

In terms of music to dance to, my influence is Chirimía for being the music that is proper of this region. In terms of music to listen to, my influence comes from ballads and soft, sentimental music.

5) In your years as an artist, do you think that you have had one or more opportunities in which you – in your own style – have been able to show the African roots in Colombian music?

I have been to regional dance exchanges. In those exchanges, the dances are exchanged but the cultures are not so there I feel that the (African) traditions have not been lost.

6) If you were to compare the African heritage in Chirimía with the African heritage in Salsa, which would be the main differences?

You cannot compare them. Salsa is very recent and I feel that ancient African music was better, since more feelings were expressed.

7) If you had to represent the heritages that Africa gave to Colombia, through something other than music, how would you do it?

Through ancient customs. I would not like to do it through what is recent since everything has now been altered very much. There are people who do not have clear where we (the Afro-Colombian race) come from.

III. CONCLUSION

I think that the previous pages and Lopez’s final answer have proven my point. We all like to listen to music nowadays, as a matter of fact, “Nothing is more singular about this generation than its addiction to music.” (Bloom) But the music we like, comes directly or indirectly from Africa.

WORKS CITED:

1) Cruz, Celia. Celia. Mi Vida. 1st Ed. Barcelona, Spain: Ediciones B, S.A., 2004.

2) “Que Rico Suena Mi Tambor”. Fania All-Stars. Live At Yankee Stadium Vol.1 Fania Records Inc. , 1975.

3) “Marruecos”. Yuri Buenaventura. Salsa Dura. Mercury France, 2005.

4) "Kalimba." 29 Jan 2007 .

5) “Mapalé”. Maria Rivas. Mapalé. EMI-Rodven S.A. , 1993.

6) "Nkosi Sikelel'iAfrica - South Africa's National Anthem." anc.org. 4 Feb 2007 .

7) Lopez, Bismark. Personal Interview. Bahia Solano, Colombia. January 24th, 2007.

8)"Allan Bloom Quotes." BrainyQuote.com. 2007. BrainyMedia.com. 4 Feb 2007 .

Copyright 2007 (renovado en 2009), Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.

ESCRITO EN INGLÉS: BILLIE HOLIDAY AND RAY CHARLES SANG THE SAME BLUES

Even though they were released during different decades, the films Ray and Lady Sings The Blues, have many things in common: they are both about musicians (Ray Charles and Billie Holiday), both their main characters are African American, they were both present at the Academy Awards (Diana Ross was nominated for her performance as Billie in the Best Actress category, and Jamie Foxx won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Ray), both lead characters suffer from addiction to narcotics, and both Billie and Ray are impacted by two life-changing deaths (the death of Billie’s pianist, as well as that of Ray’s brother George). However, one of the most important things that both films have in common is racial injustice.

Lady Sings The Blues takes place in the 1930’s and 1940’s, when the lynching of African-Americans in the southern states of the United States was common. Billie Holiday is shocked by this, especially in three scenes: the first one is when, during a tour, Billie asks her bus driver to stop for a minute. Billie gets off the bus to admire the pretty trees, a view that eventually leads to a shocking image as Billie sees fellow African Americans being hung from those trees, inspiring her to record one of her most important songs, “Strange Fruit”, whose lyrics say: “Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees (…)” (Allen 43), in which the ‘fruit’ that hangs from the trees is obviously the African-American people of the southern states of the US.

Another shocking moment comes when the Ku Klux clan attacks the tour bus that belongs to Billie’s band, a band founded by white musicians, in which she is the only African American. Billie’s band mates try to protect her and they ask her to hide for her own safety, however, Billie refuses to do so by cursing the clan desperately, yet face to face.

The final moment of this film in which Billie is a direct victim of racial injustice, comes when she and her band are asked to appear in a live radio program sponsored by Sunray Soap, a company that promotes ‘white’ and clean hands, and therefore the band appears, but Billie does not meet the sponsor’s target due to her color, so therefore, she never performs on the show. This is a direct example of how racial injustice affects Billie Holiday’s work opportunities in Lady Sings The Blues, something to which Ray Charles is a direct challenge in Ray.

Sometime in the early sixties, Ray Charles, an African-American who managed to have success on both white and African American radio, is scheduled to perform at a concert for a segregated audience in Georgia, where the Jim Crow laws are still in function. Ray only learns about the segregated organization of the event upon his arrival at the venue that same day, due to a protesting fellow African American, who asks him not to perform that night. At first, Ray refuses, but not before long, he changes his mind, gets back into his tour bus and leaves the state of Georgia, from which he is legally forbidden until 1979, when the Jim Crow laws are no longer functioning and the state offers him a public apology, welcomes him back, and makes his song “Georgia On My Mind”, its official state song. This shows how Ray Charles is a direct challenge to racial injustice, as he refuses to perform before an official entity which supports this issue, for this same entity to admit that prohibiting him is a mistake years later.

Because of the previous reasons, we can affirm that racial injustice is one of the most important factors in both Ray and Lady Sings The Blues, leading us to the following conclusion: even though they lived during different times and performed different genres, one thing is for certain: Billie Holiday and Ray Charles sang the same blues.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) Allen, Lewis. "Billie Holiday Strange Fruit lyrics." Lyrics Freak. 15 Sep 2008 http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/billie+holiday/strange+fruit_20017859.html.

Copyright 2008 (renovado en 2009), Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.