Reviews

“The Spanish guitarist is widely considered a leading ambassador of flamenco music, as much revered for his playing as for his teaching”
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“This collection, which represents a dozen separate original albums, should have a wide-ranging appeal, parading as it does some attractive repertoire brilliantly played and captured in excellent sound…”
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Fantastic new ‘Top of the World’ review of “la Guitarra – Mi Vida” in the magazine Songlines, August/September 2015 edition now available. The magazine also had the track ‘La Feria’ from the album on the covermounted disc.
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Review of Essential Flamenco Guitar Volume One
“His performances of the music from the book are excellent, with some examples being played at varying speeds – slow, then quicker – with the camera up close for more visual detail.”
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CD: The Early Years:
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/album-reviews-leftfield-juan-martin-and-danny-and-the-champions-of-the-world-20150623-ghu59n.html

Purcell Room, London, May 24th 2013
This performance by flamenco guitarist Juan Martín and his ‘Música Alhambra’ ensemble came at the end of his recent UK tour. The Música Alhambra ensemble includes Juan Martín on flamenco guitar, Paul Fawcus on flute and clarinet, Chris Karan on percussion and two Arabic musicians: Abdul Salam Kheir, who sang and played the Arabic lute, and Louai Alhenawi who played a bamboo flute called the ‘ney’ as well as an Arabic tambourine and drum.
The concert began with Juan Martín playing solo – a piece in the flamenco form of tarantas, which unfortunately suffered a little from poor tuning. In London, we have been having unusually cold weather during Spring/Summer. The guitar had arrived in this very cold weather and was not adjusting to the temperature change under the heat of the stage lights. For the second piece, Juan Martín was joined by Louai Alhenawi playing the ney. Louai Alhenawi is a Syrian musician and had a range of different neys on stage, each a different length. They played a piece called Levante, which creates an atmosphere of serenity and the imaginary pleasantness of hot, dry winds.
The programme was well contrasted and full of appealing music. For each piece there was a different combination of musicians and sometimes the full ensemble performed. Abdul Salam Kheri sang some Muwashahat, and played on the Arabic lute, accompanied by the full ensemble. They performed two Muwashahat: Zarani el Mahboub and Lamma Bada Yatathanna. From a similar period in Spanish history, came two Sephardi songs, La rosa enflorece and Ven querida ven amada, beautifully performed by Juan Martín with Paul Fawcus on clarinet: I would have been happy to hear these three times over.
They also performed pieces from Juan Martín’s Música Alhambra recording, such as Evocación from Damascus to Cordoba and dedicated this piece to the people of Syria. In the final piece, La Pasión del Lamento, which was also from the Musica Alhambra recording, Abdul Salam Kheir sang in a traditional improvised Arabic style, singing only the words ‘Ya Leel’. This fitted in very well with the flamenco bias of the piece. It was a long concert and even though Juan Martín’s guitar never really settled, it was full of excellent music.

Regarded as one of the best guitarists in the world, Juan Martín has just released this album of self-penned compositions, which allows him to show off his amazing talent on the acoustic guitar. On tracks such as the gorgeous Alegria de Pablo you are held spellbound as you marvel at the speed of his fingers over the strings and at his skillful fretwork. The same can be heard on the cascading guitar sounds on the flowing Con Rumba al Carnival.
Juan Martín is undoubtedly a master guitarist, but a few of the tracks on the completely instrumental album of flamenco guitar music are a bit heavy, unless of course you are a true fan. 

www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/nov/28/theatre1

www.dailyinfo.co.uk/reviews/feature/1947/Juan+Martin/

CD: Rumbas Originales
A showcase compilation of material by acclaimed Spanish guitarist Juan Martín, Rumbas Originales has a somewhat self-explanatory title and includes 16 rumba-style compositions from the pen of Martín himself.
Accompanied throughout by percussion and bass, and occasional vocals, the real centrepiece is Martín’s dazzling and frenetic fretwork, as he performs with an alacrity and dexterity that renders what he does a joy to hear. Martín conjures a beautiful, moody atmosphere with Cuban and Arabic motifs emerging amidst the sultry musical vistas.
There are some evocative moments, particularly in the ambitious and express train delivery of ‘Gitana Latina’ and on the vibrant ‘Flight”, while the gently brooding ‘Amante’ and the closing live cut ‘Por Rumba Los Dos’ with its classical flamenco-style rolling, rhythmic peaks demonstrate well Martín’s mastery of the idiom. Save for a couple of ill-placed numbers on which a cheesy-sounding keyboard intrudes (‘Arlequin’ and ‘El Deseo Atrapado Por La Cola’), Rumbas Originales is a formidable introduction to the work of this master guitarist.

El guitarrista Juan Martín seduce Indonesia con su arte flamenco
Mar Centenera Yakarta, 30 mar (EFE).- Con reminiscencias moriscas y la madre de todas las guitarras, la flamenca, el malagueño Juan Martín sedujo a los indonesios.
“Para mí, la guitarra original es la flamenca, antes que la clásica, antes que el jazz. Es la madre de todas las guitarras y mi responsabilidad, como representante de esta gran tradición, es comunicarla con pureza”, dejó claro Martín a EFE en Yakarta.
Con las cosas claras, después de más de treinta años en los escenarios y dieciocho discos, el artista se enfrentó tan sólo con su guitarra a un aforo lleno con ‘Linares’, una emotiva taranta.
“Me gusta empezar con una taranta, porque espiritualmente me siento muy cerca de los mineros, parece que uno está debajo de tierra”, explicó después de la actuación, organizada por el Instituto Cervantes y la Embajada de España en Yakarta anoche.
Continuó con un zapateado seguido de ‘Triana’, una seguiriya muy lenta, de gran hondura, interpretada con una gran tensión contenida.
Su expresión serena no reflejó en ningún momento el nerviosismo con el que había empezado.
“Será porque soy buen actor, podría ganar un Oscar de Hollywood”, diría después entre risas.
Tras las primeras piezas, el auditorio quedó sumido en un intenso silencio, tan sólo interrumpido por la cálida voz de Martín para introducir cada palo elegido en un perfecto inglés, consecuencia de su larga estancia en Londres y de su matrimonio con una británica “extraordinaria”.
“Si queremos que el flamenco llegue más lejos tenemos que enseñarlo en la Universidad, en conservatorios, en escuelas de música”, destacó el malagueño, quien criticó a los flamencos que no enseñan lo que saben a nadie, “a veces ni a sus hijos”.
Si con la taranta la guitarra de Martín vibró al ritmo de <http://es.guide.yahoo.com/fa/9562.html> los cantos subterráneos de los mineros, con la rumba y la guajira se impregnó de los cálidos sonidos latinoamericanos antes de reclamar concentración para la ejecución magistral de una soleá.
Pero quizás el ritmo mejor acogido anoche, el más cercano a la audiencia indonesia, fue la zambra ‘De Damasco a Córdoba’, llena de sones moriscos familiares a los que vuelan en las calles de Yakarta, inundadas con mezquitas que llaman a la oración cinco veces al día.
“El sonido del muecín es muy parecido al del cante flamenco, el flamenco tiene raíces árabes innegables”, remarca Martín al recordar su paso por Irán y por Turquía.
“En Estambul podías escuchar no uno, sino hasta diez muecines a la vez, parecía que armonizasen todos juntos, era algo mágico.” El poder evocador de la música de Martín fue potenciado por uno de sus maestros, Niño Ricardo, a quien el malagueño considera su mayor inspiración.
“El Niño Ricardo era un poeta; era un gran creador. Cuando tocaba por granaína estabas viendo la Alhambra, cuando tocaba por alegrías estabas, tú, en Cádiz, evocaba siempre cada palo su sitio de origen.” Aunque Martín tiene una compañía de flamenco que le acompaña en numerosas giras, reconoce que también le gusta actuar solo porque la música no queda encubierta por la fuerza visual de la bailaora.
“Me gusta tocar para bailar y cantar, pero es tan visual que nadie se entera de la música. ¿Con una mujer en el escenario, quién va a estar pendiente del guitarrista?”, bromea.
Sin distracciones visuales y con un dominio absoluto de la guitarra, Martin sedujo anoche al público indonesio y los más atrevidos del anfiteatro le acompañaron con palmas, sin importarles estar totalmente fuera de compás.
“El flamenco es tan grande que los clásicos, los jazzistas y todos se quedan acojonaos con nosotros”, manifestó el músico.
“Un público muy simpático, muy simpático”, añadió el malagueño riéndose poco antes de abandonar definitivamente la sala. EFE mcg/zm/chs

Juan Martín’s double CD Live en Directo is a complete show by his Compania Flamenca: Dancers El Tigre (Salvador Moreno) and Luisa Chicano, singer Nuria Martin and second guitarist Chato Velez (Antonio Fernandez Torres). The album’s creative charge lies partly in its purist commitment with extended improvisations that demonstrate both the music’s function as accompaniment for song and dance and its inspirational nature as solo art music.
Recordings like this only work when all participants are working at the height of their powers, and that’s the case here. Martín is a fine soloist, but he also has flair for leadership, evident in the way he added warmth and direction to the closing sections of the Martins 4 tour last season. There’s no fusion in Martín’s disc, but it wouldn’t be so moving without the technological intimacy of clear, clean digital recording.

April 2004 click here

There have been times when Juan Martin has strayed from his true path – crossing over meretriciously – but this CD is a triumphant return to his roots. Recorded live on his UK tour last autumn, it’s a luxurious 100 minutes of the real stuff, with his guitarism supported by a cleverly chosen group of soloists. Nuria Martin’s sweet-throaty tone nicely complements Chato Velez’s sound, which runs the flamenco gamut in grand style; the dancing of Salvador Moreno (“El tigre”) may not be visible
but you sense it in the music. A gracefully accomplished album.

Melbourne played host to leading international guitarists twice last week. Early on, American Ralph Towner was in town as part of his first Australian solo tour. Then, last Thursday, Spanish guitarist Juan Martin filled the smaller Beckett Theatre in the first of two Melbourne concerts. Although the two guitarists hail from different musical worlds – jazz and flamenco – hearing them almost back-to-back did draw out parallels.
Like Towner, Juan Martin was performing solo here but is also an experienced ensemble musician. He has toured and recorded as a member of several groups and collaborated with major artists in various fields (including jazz names such as Herbie Hancock and Mark Isham). Like Towner too, Martin is such a natural player that there is no need for flashy histrionics. His art may be technically awe-inspiring, but technique is never an end in itself. And both players have developed an approach to the guitar that clearly refers to a particular musical tradition, while also moving beyond it to reflect a distinct personal style.
When Martin plays a Soléa por Buleria, it breathes with the fierce energy of pure flamenco. And yet it is, like all the pieces in his repertoire, an original composition (in this case Esencia) filled with melodic and rhythmic combinations that are Martins own contribution to the art form. The dramatic flourishes so integral to flamenco are part of Martin’s acoustic armoury, but he also used them judiciously, to intersect rather than interrupt the fluid movement of his phrases. He also tends to articulate them slightly so that they are part flourish, part rippling trill.
At Thursdays concert Martin introduced each piece with a brief but evocative word portrait that described its rhythmic and regional origins. He then effortlessly transformed the portrait into music, evoking not just the images of prickly pears and mountainous ravines but the sounds of, lightning fast footwork, stuttering castanets and the proud exhortations of the flamenco cantaor (singer).
Pieces such as De Damasco a Cordoba strongly reflected the Moorish roots of flamenco, while others (Vuelo: Airto y Juan) were imbued with vibrant rhythmic references to Latin America. As an encore, Martin performed la Feria (The Fair), its vigorous, percussive slapping and emphatic flourished making it a celebratory conclusion to a memorable performance.

Three starry names from differing worlds within today’s British guitar scene performed at the Wigmore last Monday, which was testament to the broadmindedness and absolute enthusiasm Ivor Mairants had for the guitar. It was, after all, his memorial concert. Carlos Bonell showed off his wealth of tonal timbres and mouth-watering nuances in three romantic Preludes by Villa-Lobos; flamenco guitarist Juan Martin soon whipped things into a passionate Spanish frenzy and dazzled us with complex cross rhythms and rumbas to die for; electric jazz guitarist Martin Taylor gently rocked to some virtuosic rhythm and blues. But it was not all a celebration of the established high life. As a proprietor of an excellent guitar shop and founder of the Central School of Dance Music in London, Mairants was always on the look-out for aspiring young players, and supportive of new talent. This was properly reflected too.
Amanda Cook, a musician in her early 20s and winner of the first (1997)Ivor Mairants Guitar Awards, presented and endearing if slightly too balmy interpretation of Mairant’s bluesy Evocation for Joe Pass, but her relaxed approach and clear, sweet tone were engaging. Marginally more established is the Eden-Stell Duo which gave its concert debut at the South Bank Centre three years ago and has just released a CD. Eden and Stell’s performance of arrangements of the Allemande and Les Cyclopes from Rameau’s Piéces de Clavecin showed a duo which breathed as one. Their rhythmic pacings, precise ornamentation and clear direction brought a vitality to Rameau’s French Baroque lines. In Rodriquez’ Fandango and Tonadilla another side revealed as two fiery, more menacing voices emerged. The evening was appropriately rounded off with In Memoriam Ivor Mairants,a heartfelt yet ultimately uplifting song written by Ivor’s daughter Valerie and performed rather loudly by the Guildhall Octet.

Juan Martin & Musica Alhambra Queen Elizabeth Hall Flamenco is back in fashion, and rightly so. It is, after all, one of the greatest enduring music styles of Europe, as resilient as the blues,and equally varied in its different forms and the still-developing fusion that have evolved from it. The acoustic Spanish band Radio Tariff have shown some of the possibilities,while even the British Asian club hero, Nitan Sawhney, fuses flamenco with Indian styles in his current experimental work. All of those would have made welcome additions to the five concert Arte Flamenco celebration of the new Spanish musical renaissance, on the South Bank. The opening artist was Juan Martin, a one-time student of Paco de Lucia, whose mixture of new composition and historical work is very much in the tradition of Radio Tarifa.
His instrumental line-up showed what one should expect. Playing to a packed QEH, he perched on a stool, cradling his guitar, surrounded by his singer Abdul Saleem Kheir, playing the ancient Arabic lute, the oud, a percussionist playing hand drums and the Indian tablas, and flute and clarinet players. The repertoire veered between the ancient and modern, from Sephardic songs from the 13th century through to self-composed pieces in which delicate guitar solos were matched against repeated clarinet phrases. This was virtuoso playing, for sure, but with a difference. Intensity and emotion were there, in patches, but Juan Martin’s skill was in creating unexpected textures and colours within the flamenco setting. there were a few wild guitar flurries but much of the playing was thoughtful,stately and mesmeric.