In The Book of Tea, Kakuzo Okakura recalls the tale of the Taming of the Harp. There is a wonderful Kiri tree that a mighty wizard transforms in a harp for the Emperor of China, but none of his musicians is able to play it.
Then a harp-master arrives and after looking attentively the harp, beautiful music comes out. He had just listened to the harp and let it play, and the memories of the tree awakened singing of birds and brooks and wind and stars.
It is my belief that each one of us is a beautiful tree that awaits for its harp-master, and also each and every song is a kiri tree that wants to be awakened, rediscovered. wants to tell us about its birds and brooks and wind and stars.
Track list:
1 Canción de amor (Paco de Lucía) 7:41
2 We met once (Antonio Flinta) 8:49
3 I hear a rhapsody (George Fragos) 8:14
4 Gracias a la vida (Violeta Parra) 6:04
5 Be at one with this world (A. Flinta) 8:53
6 Yone y Elena (A. Flinta) 5:30
7 ‘Round midnight (Thelonious Monk) 8:41
(or click the birds)
After many years playing and recording with my own trio and quartet, this is my very first piano solo album, where I have explored some of the songs I’ve been playing at home this last year and a half.
There are three originals, two of them We met once and Be at one with this world appear in previous albums I’ve recorded in trio and quartet (Tamed and La noche arrolladora). We met once is about extraordinary encounters, people we meet once and feel we’ve been friends since always, and Be at one with this world is a verse from chapter 56 of the Tao Te Ching, the chinese classic by Laozi. The third original song Yone y Elena is a brand new composition dedicated to my nieces. This song is in a odd rhythmic setting of three-four-four-two, but I feel that the melody and the harmonies underneath make the song flow very smoothly.
I hear a rhapsody is a standard I very often play introducing it with some kind of improvised counterpoint that I never know where is going to bring me, and ‘Round midnight is an old and persistent love that this time made me play a vamp of chords or colours on an Eb pedal.
Violeta Parra’s Gracias a la vida is a song that reminds me Chile, my birthplace, but also the meaning of things by its poetic, simple and yet so profound lyrics.
Just one month before this recording session, I was watching Paco de Lucía’s old interviews on the internet. I’ve been raised in Spain, and flamenco and especially Paco were all around, and his sincere and authentic way of telling things and of course his artistry brought me to play Canción de amor, a song I love since I heard it first time in his wonderful 1990 album Zyryab. Improvising on it I realized I felt at home.
The harp of Kakuzo Okakura’s story is the old chinese instrument called Guqin, the kiri tree is Paulownia Tomentosa, and the story is in chapter V Art Appreciation of his 1906 book.
About the album cover art click here.
