THE BAND THE MUSICIANS Ricardo Esteve Flamenco guitar Jerez-Texas is a musical mosaic that Ricardo Esteve colours with his vibrant flamenco touches. He studied flamenco guitar in Valencia with Los Ricardo Fenollosa, performing in classic tablaos (flamenco Esteve Jesús Gimeno Matthieu Saglio dedicated scenes). Crédit : Toma-Swan Toma-Swan : Crédit Crédit : Gabriel Omnès Favouring emotion over visual impact, he has Founded in Valencia (Spain) in 2002, Jerez-Texas is a story of chance become the point of reference for the guitar in the Valencia encounters. Encounters between Ricardo Esteve, Matthieu Saglio and Jesús Gimeno; Province thanks to his long collaboration with the singer/ three brilliant instrumentalists from different horizons (flamenco for the first, classi- “Jerez-Texas songwriter Burguitos and the singer/dancer Isabel Julve. cal for the second and jazz for the third), who elegantly A professional musician from a young age, Ri- mix popular music and classical music, melodic pleas- is a musical cardo formed Salpicao in 1985, a modern flamenco group “Spirit of ure and virtuosity. with whom he recorded two albums, toured Europe and par- It is also the union of three instruments: flamenco gui- ticipated in numerous festivals throughout Spain (San Isidro, tar, cello and drums. An original and yet appealing for- mosaic that Lugo f. Música celta, trobadas de música de Valencia in Flamenco mation. The music of Jerez-Texas, from flamenco to which he was first part to Paco de Lucia). jazz, bossa and classical, speaks to the soul and mind. Ricardo Later, Ricardo gave concerts in Egypt, Indonesia and Germany accompanying various flamenco groups. In It is on stage that this amazing union of the fieriness and Colours England, he performed as a soloist with guitarists Russell of flamenco with the freedom of jazz reaches its apo- Lloyd and Gerald Garcia. He performed for a while with gee. With their subtly nuanced compositions and daring Ximo Tebar Group, Al Tall, Miquel Gil, and Seguridad Social freedom of interpretations of jazz pieces and French songs, the with his in a tour of Latin America. group has entranced and enthralled a large audience Recently, he gave performances in Buenos Aires with the Instrumental Group of Valencia. He has participated over the course of more than 130 appearances in Spain flamenco jazz” in the flamenco festivals of Valencia in 1995 and 1999, Tor- and France. The concerts of Jerez-Texas, with their po- rente in 1997 and various jazz festivals, including Villena. etic intensity, have elevated this trio to the level of the most influential groups play- touches” Apart from his own repertoire, he composes for other ing today. artists, theatre and advertising. He wrote the soundtrack for From the ordinary music lover to the discerning cognoscenti, all suc- the theatrical works Bodas de Sangre and Las Arrecogias de Beaterio. In 2004, he produced ‘Sentiments’, the album of the cumb to the infectious fellowship that radiates from these three artists. As the saxo- group Beniterrania, led by the traditional song folk singer Jo- phonist Jorge Pardo said, ‘You don’t fuse musical styles, you fuse musicians’. sep Aparicio ‘Apa’. THE MUSICIANS THE MUSICIANS Matthieu Saglio Jesús Gimeno Cello Drums, percussion Matthieu Saglio is one of the pioneers of the intro- The musical creation that is Jerez-Texas rests on the duction of the cello into flamenco. His objective is to subtle touch of Jesús Gimeno. Full of freshness and make the cello a solo instrument in its own right. ‘More than to play ten different instruments, my idea vitality, he plays various styles with intelligence, Crédit : Gorka Reino is to play the cello in ten different ways’ he explains. Crédit : Toma-Swan mixing subtle and bold rhythm with the melodies of his From classical training (gold medal at the National partners. Music Conservatory of Rennes, France, where he studied “Full of Jesús trained in jazz at the Modern Music and Jazz “ to play from 1984 to 1995), Matthieu was introduced to the world of School in Barcelona (1980) and at the Music School in Ma- jazz and improvisation in 1996. drid and Castellón. In January 2002, he moved to Valencia where he freshness Later, he played pop music and joined the group the cello dedicated himself to professional music, participating in mu- ‘Los Auténticos’ between 1982 and 1984, with whom he sical events. and vitality, went on to record and perform in the best concert halls in Matthieu is also part of the flamenco quartet of the Spain (Celeste, Rock-Cola, Marquee) and many famous pop in ten singer and dancer Isabel Julve and collaborates with the festivals. Sephardic music sextet ‘Aman-Aman’ led by Efrén López. he plays After his time with Los Auténticos, he increasingly different You can hear the sound of his cello on ‘Zoológico collaborated with other groups and so tried many different Imaginario’, the latest album by the singer-songwriter Bur- various styles (salsa, rock, paso doble, rumbas, cha-cha…) guitos, whom he accompanies on stage. He also joined the For all that, Jesús loves jazz and works with many ways ” Beniterrania group, led by the folk singer Josep Aparicio musicians such as Dave Shnither, Fernando Marco, Adolfo ‘Apa’, for the recording of their album ‘Sentiments’ in 2004. styles with Rodriguez, Moisés Bautista, Teresa Núnez, César Giner, Es- In the same year, he collaborated with the chore- ter Perales, Ester Andújar, Ximo Tébar etc. ographer Eva Bertomeu to create the soundtrack for the intelli- He has also played in numerous jazz festivals work ‘Femme’. He was playing his music live on stage and (Castéllon, Alicante, Valencia, Benicássim, Toulouse, Jaén, the show was a great hit in Spain and France. gence” Ceuta, Tarragona, Altea, Salou…) and in many jazz clubs in Matthieu recorded an album of his own composi- Spain (Café Central, Sala 4, Celeste, Café del Mar…). tion, ‘Porte Ouverte’ (Open Door). For live performances, he He also played with many groups for televi- has formed the Matthieu Saglio Quartet, with cello, accor- sion programmes. dion, guitar and percussion. COLLABORATEURS PRESS Osvaldo Jorge « A novel and extremely dynamic trio. » Le Nouvel observateur, june 2004 Tabla, percussions « Jerez-Texas pushed back the limits further to create an imaginative and productive music, mixing styles and confronting tempos. » Ouest-France, june 2004 Ce percussionniste panaméen a plusieurs peaux à son tambour : sa maîtrise de la tabla, du cajón, de la darbouka et autres per- Par Jose María Esteban The group’s maxim characterizes the ori- cussions fait de lui un multi-instrumentiste accompli, au style gin of its name: “Jerez is flamenco, good ALICANTE – The Valencian trio Jerez- vif, créatif et spectaculaire. Après avoir suivi des études de per- wine, tradition. Texas is irreverence, cussions à Panama (au Conservatoire puis à l’Université Na- Texas returns to its roots to perform on th th iconoclasm, fusion and cross-culture”. tionale où il obtient une maîtrise de musicologie) il s’envole Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 in the This is evident when you see them live, vers l’Inde pour étudier la Tabla indienne pendant deux ans bar ‘4 Gatos’ in Alicante and on Friday th even if avec Ustad Hasmat Ali Khan à New Delhi, d’où il repart avec le diplôme de « Sriram 17 in the Desdén Hall in El Campello. the name is more evocative at first of the Baratilla Kala Kendra » en 2001. They already played there last month and film title ‘Paris, Texas’ by Wim Wenders. Il s’installe ensuite à Valence où il multiplie les projets et les genres (flamenco, jazz, had such an enthusiastic welcome that As far as their style is concerned, musiques du monde, danse). Il intègre notamment Re-Percusión et le groupe de folk they had to return…… the compatibility is obvious, Beniterrania du chanteur Apa, deux formations avec lesquelles il enregistre un album Jerez-Texas brings together and the trio shows that ‘as en septembre 2004, et collabore avec Jerez-Texas, en studio comme sur scène. imagination and musical « Jerez-Texas brings Jorge Pardo said, “you don’t creativity, quality and skill. together imagination fuse music styles, rather you The trio was formed and musical creativ- fuse musicians’’. Something Isabel Julve three years ago with the un- ity, quality and that Jerez-Texas demon- ion of three musicians: clas- skill.. » strates with the perfect co- Chant, danse sical (Matthieu Saglio, ordination of the various ele- ments giving rise to a very Une présence prodigieuse, une voix bouleversante: cello), flamenco (Ricardo Esteve, guitar), and jazz (Jesús Gimeno, personal and new sound in which la chanteuse-danseuse Isabel Julve a su imposer au ‘flamenco, jazz, bossa and classical are fil des ans son style singulier alliant fougue et pré- drums); three impeccable instrumentalists who have been able to create their own perceptible at one and the same time, and cision. Sur scène, elle alterne le chant et la danse, à with authority and ease and an apparent l’aise dans tous les « palos » flamencos (bulerías, style. This can be felt in their composi- tions as well as in the original rendering simplicity giving great pleasure’. tangos, fandangos, rumba, alegrías, etc.) The trio has recorded two Après avoir étudié la danse classique, la musique, le flamenco et le chant à Madrid et à of known works… As an example, their adaptation of part of the ‘Concerto de demos which show off their great musical Valence avec entre autres El Guito, Paco Romero et Robert Sandal, Isabel Julve en- style, but they do need an album, although tame des tournées internationales avec des artistes de renom. Elle se produit en France, Aranjuez’ from Joaquim Rodrigo, is sim- ply brilliant because, although it gives a it is certain that their live acts will be diffi- en Allemagne ou en Italie aux côtés de La Tani, Morenito de Iyora, Chicuelo… cult to equal with a recording.