DEL CASTILLO’s "Infinitas Rapsodias": Guitar String Theory En Espanol

If music reviewers had to be certifiably impartial judges in order to air their opinions in these not-so-hallowed nets and webs of intrigue, then I’d have to recuse myself, because I like these guys unabashedly, have for a while as a matter of fact, ever since seeing them live in LA at a free gig in McArthur Park for the homies a few years ago.  First of all, you gotta respect any band that’ll go to those lengths to get in front of an audience.  Secondly, it’s appropriate considering that both the band and patrons were predominantly Hispanic, even though most of the audience probably never heard of them.  That’s the price you pay to be a star in Texas; you may not be a star anywhere else.  After all they were Robert Rodriquez’s “own band” Chingon back in the latter days of the “mariachi trilogy” and had a major presence in the final soundtrack and even the film itself.  Last time I checked their tour schedule a couple years ago, they still had a significant number of private parties to play.  That’s all changing.

What these guys do with nylon strings is what I like to do with my wife when coming home after a couple months in dusty lonely godforsaken countries that I have to visit just to prove to myself that they’re really there.  That’s the business of Rick and Mark del Castillo, acclaimed guitarists in the hollow body style.  What they do is a bit hard to describe, maybe something like classical Spanish speed-guitar.  Put the two of them together and it’s something to behold.  This guitar virtuosity is slathered with the icing of Alex Ruiz’s dramatic voice and muy macho personality.  They’re the cerebral European jazz musicians, solving equations with fine fret-work; he’s the bad-ass Mexican, in your face and up your spine with chilling renditions of romantic endeavor.  Most of the creative interplay of the band occurs right there, with a solid bass and percussion laying down rhythm.

Their new album is called Infinitas Rapsodias and contains a mix of new songs and old standards, and even includes a DVD.  For you initiates, the songs themselves hold no great surprises, mostly revisiting themes that have already been explored by Santana, Gypsy Kings, Los Lobos, or Los Lonelies.  It’s the musicianship that sells it, good hearty stuff that ranges from rock en Espanol to flamenco to Latin jazz, all with those distinctive guitars and that high-drama vocal, evoking the classic themes of life and love, romance and dance, heart and soul.   Still there are mysteries to be revealed internally.  The album begins with “Lumbres de Babylon (‘Lights of Babylon’),” classic Del Castillo with those great guitars, dramatic and romantic, “vamos caminando por las carreteras de la Corazon…baila conmigo (‘let’s go walking along the highways of the heart…dance with me’).”  “Fuego Egipico (‘Egypian Fire’)” follows up with a more pronounced Arab feel, guitars supplying the drama in a song purely instrumental.

At this point I realize something for maybe the first time.  I don’t know if any Spanish-language song genre—be it flamenco, salsa, whatever—has ever paid tribute to what I consider to be its significant Arab roots.  Even with flamenco, usually attributed to Spanish gitanos (gypsies), they don’t fit the description of Europe’s other groups of Romani.  It does come from Andalusia, though, the Moorish stronghold in Spain.  And of course, the Spanish history in the New World starts the same year that Arab history in Spain ends, so the culture was still mixed when it got exported.  And it’s still there today, especially in Mexico, in the machismo, in the leather work, in the horsemanship, in the adobe, and in the music, of course.  Where do you think those guitars—and horses—came from?  

“Mujer Angel” is slower, with some sweet electric guitar, a pleasant break from the usual frenetic pace the boys set, still equally romantic, “Yo por ti muriera…mujer angel (‘I’d die for you…lady angel’),” likewise “Canta de Alma—mira las estrellas, mira al cielo mira la luna que es la luna de mi pasion (‘Song of the Soul—look at the stars, look at the heavens, look at the moon that’s the moon of my passion’).”  “Brotherhood” is the only song in English, a duet with female vocals, and it’s a good one, “Oh there goes my brother, oh there goes my sister…whoa there is my mother…amen to the father.”

The rest of the album finds Del Castillo working largely in their comfort zone, with some pleasant change-ups in “Para mi Sobrina,” a mellow instrumental, and “Maria,” sung in Italian.  “Perdoname (‘Pardon me’)” has some nice piano and violin, and some painful slow revelations and supplications: “lagrimas cayeron como cae la lluvia … perdoname suplico…no me abandones, perdoname (‘tears fall like rain…forgive me, I beg you…don’t abandon me, forgive me’).”  They finish things off with a flourish in high drama, Amor Venme a Buscar, a duet with German opera diva Anna Maria Kaufmann.  How’s that for a finish?  No, music reviewers don’t have to be impartial and objective.  Sometimes we just know what we like, too.  That’s Infinitas Rapsodias by Del Castillo.  Check it out.  They’re on a world tour, also.  That’s even better. 

more by hardie k

ONCE UPON A TIME IN MacARTHUR PARK

They say flamenco bands are a dime a dozen in Spain (actually they don’t say that; I say that), so why do they all sound the same- two Spanish guitarists and three people clapping and clogging to the rhythm, with assorted throw-away vocals? Well, this is good interesting stuff to be sure, but can’t somebody do something new and original with it? Enter the Gypsy Kings, basically doing a double-or-nothing, twice the guitars and twice the vocals and bam! They’ve got hits and top billing and a high-five artists’ fee while the rest wallow in anonymity. But still, can’t somebody take flamenco and do something really original? They can; and have. You’ve even heard them, but you probably didn’t notice. They’re Del Castillo and they were the nuts and bolts of Robert Rodriguez’ ‘own rock band’ Chingon (I won’t translate) in the third installment of the ‘Mariachi’ trilogy. The sound they create is so memorable and classic that you assume it’s always been around. Maybe it has, but only in small snatches. Imagine a combination of Spanish guitar, Flamenco flavor, Santana stylings, and Mana’ pop hooks, and you’re getting the pic.

These guys have really got something, and any notion that Rodriguez himself might deserve the credit is undermined by the fact that these guys predated Erase Una Vez en Mexico. If it were the ‘Rodriguez sound’, then you would’ve heard it on previous ‘Mariachi’ installments. You didn’t; you heard Los Lobos. The band is anchored by suave Spanish speed guitarists Mark and Rick Del Castillo and fronted vocally by Mexican bad-ass Alex Ruiz, a brilliant convergence of the different Spanish and Mexican personalities. This is Tex-Mex music at its best. This is why you go to Austin. These guys come out of the same milieu that has spawned such innovators as Anglos Doug Sahm and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Espanoles Charanga Cakewalk and Maneja Beto, and hybrids Alejandro Escovedo, Los Lonely Boys and Flaco Jimenez. It’s fitting they showed up at McArthur Park in the Central American barrio only days before Salvadoran independence day. It’s a shame few people showed up. It’s not cutesy cumbia after all, and it’s really not designed for dancing, though I guess you could. It’s for listening and letting your mind wander over high plains and fields of saguaro, sensitivities heightened and mentally alert. If there’s any vicarious thrill to being a music promoter/aficionado, it’s discovering something new and different, maybe right before your eyes but invisible until you took the time to notice. Del Castillo could be the next Los Lobos. Have I said enough good things yet?

Latino music took a totally different turn with Quetzal Guerrero as part of the Fresh Roots Jazz Festival at Cal Plaza’s Grand Performances Friday night. This is smooth violin-laced jazz with a Brazilian feel, sung in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. I was pleasantly surprised. This is music for caressing your lover, getting out of your rut and sliding into a groove. I’ll expect more from Quetzal G with or without his eponymous warriors. There’s always room for a good jazz violinist. Latino music took a more familiar path with Bobby Matos’ (Afro) Latin Jazz Ensemble at LACMA on Saturday. There’s a lot of salsa and Latin jazz in this town. You gotta’ be tight. The confusing profusion of band names under which Mr. Matos plays may reflect some confusion in the delivery of such. I’d give him big credit for adding violin and flute to diversify the sound, but they might need to double up on the practice sessions. There were a few calls from the line of scrimmage and some dropped leads, and that hurts. The dancers probably won’t notice of course, but listeners do. Like I say I don’t always know where Latin jazz becomes salsa becomes cumbia becomes ‘rock en Espanol’ becomes ‘indie en Espanol’ on a scale of tightness to looseness, perhaps in inverse proportion of spontaneity to formality, but if you call yourself ‘jazz’ then you better be tight and you better wail on the leads. Perhaps there’s some confusion with half the band from LA and half from NY. Bobby’s got a long distinguished career. Cut him some slack.

Last but not least, and not even last chronologically, Thursday night was reggae night at McArthur Park with Elan, who has made a name for himself, and still does sometimes, by assuming Bob Marley’s vocal roles with Bob’s old band The Wailers. His voice does sound uncannily like that of Uncle Bob’s. Big deal; I know a guy in Chiang Mai who’s made a career out of being the Thai John Lennon. Do we love Bob Marley because of his singing voice? No, we love him because he articulated something that needed to be articulated and gave musical voice to African/American identity in the lean years between soul and rap. His current MySpace numbers verify the timelessness of his message. Fortunately Elan has got some good hooks in his own right, and his music is unmistakably reggae, both technically and spiritually, among the best of what that genre has to offer in this age of lifeless re-hash. It’s eminently listenable.

There was a lot more world music this past week that I couldn’t make, like Dengue Fever at El Rey and Nomo at Amoeba, but that’s the breaks. I’ve seen them both and DF is one of my all-time faves, but you live for the thrill of discovery. This week gives some much-needed African music into the mix with Oliver Mtukudzi and Rocky Dawuni at Santa Monica Pier and Daby Toure’ at Skirball Cultural Center. Unfortunately they’re at the same time, so you can’t see both. There should be some sort of way to avoid this. Besides that there will be plenty of other choices, including Juan Manuel Barco’s Tejano conjunto, the Dublin 4, and Chekere Latin Jazz at MacArthur Park on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday respectively. Then there’s zydeco with Lisa Haley on Thursday, Smadar Levi’s Semitic tunes on Friday, and Nocy’s guitar wizardy on Saturday night, all at the Levitt sister Pavilion in Pasadena. Cal Plaza water court downtown has Jaipur Kawa Brass Band Friday at noon and 8pm, and LACMA has got Pure Samba with Katia Moraes on Saturday evening. I love this job. When do I get paid?