# The Blues and Cante Flamenco: An Invitation



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

While listening again to Luther Allison singing Watching You, I was again struck by how powerful the Blues can be in moving an audience. Allison sings compellingly of his partner's alcoholism, how it is destroying her life and will lead to her early death, while accompanying himself on his guitar. I then recalled Janis Joplin's similarly wrenching delivery of Ball and Chain. These can both be thought of as the Blues equivalents of the Siguiriyas of cante flamenco, the most profound, the most "jondo", of the many varieties of flamenco song. While there are clearly differences between powerful Blues and Siguiriyas, both rely upon a close relationship between singer and guitar, with vocals alternating with purely instrumental interludes, long or short. The goal of both is to evoke a strong empathetic emotional response in the listener. And even though we can understand Allison's and Joplin's lyrics easily while Siguiriyas are invariably sung in the slurred Andalu dialect of flamenco Spain, that emotional component of Siguiriyas comes through in the voice and demeanor of the singer, the cantaor or cantaora.

So this post is an invitation to Blues lovers and to the curious to experience the musical and emotional power of traditional, classic cante flamenco--flamenco song, the heart and soul of this musical genre that has nourished me now for over 60 years. Below is a video clip of a particularly emotive Siguiriya, sung by Estrella Morente, herself the daughter of a well-known cantaor. But I must point out that, while Estrella Morente's performance is exemplary, her attractive appearance is uncommon among flamenco singers, as the focus is upon authenticity, knowledge of the various forms or palos of flamenco, and emotive power, hence beauty of form and voice are of secondary importance to flamenco aficionados. Flamenco song is an acquired taste, and few acquire it, but if this performance arouses your curiosity, please look into my flamenco notes in the Articles section of the Forum. There you will find more information and examples of this Andalusian near-parallel to American Blues.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Music doesn't get any better than this. I love it as I love your articles on Cante Flamenco!


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