Alain Perez, a young Cuban who is a band member of the famous Spanish musician Paco de Lucía, talks with OnCuba on that particular instrument and his upcoming performance, with De Lucia, at the Leo Brouwer Festival of Chamber Music in Havana.
I can imagine Alain Pérez Rodríguez detailing a painting, perhaps painted under the precepts of Leonardo Da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli. In him the essence of the guitar certainly appears drawn, the instrument that allows him to express himself, as the stars of the Renaissance did through the visual arts.
He probably has pictorial sensitivity and beauty. Capturing such features is always a difficult task, because Alain is a demanding artist. I have not yet proposed the extrapolation of art. The idea came after reviewing each of his answers, thanks to the digital age, obtained through email.
Young and restless, Perez is a musician that distills Cuban identity in an endearing way. He has also been known to drink from all sources to which he has access, including its strong connection with Paco de Lucia, whom he has accompanied for almost a decade.
While we can appreciate his artistic work in the upcoming Leo Brouwer Chamber Music Festival, Alain Pérez unveils in OnCuba its paradigms and his views on music.
-Brouwer himself explained that the guitar is not an abstract art, but keeps a close relation with the repertoire, with its history. What did you find in that instrument?
I share and agree with the teacher. The guitar, by its history, since it came at the hands of man, has done well for the benefit of culture. We have filled all with joy and excitement. It is unconditional, has been present in all classes without distinction, or difference, in all ages. Its work reflects the feeling of what we have lived. What else to say, the guitar is shaped like a woman.
“I discovered music through the first sounds of a guitar back in my hometown, Manaca Iznagas, in the province of Sancti Spiritus. I heard the sound of the peasants with their point and tunes, making everyone happy in a transparent and humble way.
“So let me be carried away by the feeling. At the age of 6 or 7 years I already wanted the guitar, sing and make music. All that energy made me look for it until I started to study at the Conservatory Manuel Saumell, Cienfuegos, and the Olga Alonso Vocational School of Art, in Santa Clara. Then I went to the National Art School and one of the pieces that I took the test level pass was the Studio 20 of Leo Brouwer.
“I can say that the guitar is an essential tool for music, whether classical or popular. She sounds like the street, smiles and tears. There are melodies that other instruments do not have the range that is on guitar. After all, I became a bass player by accident. Today I play guitar and bass, but when composing a song, I remain faithful to the guitar “.
– Why jazz and the variety of genres covering popular Cuban music are elements you take to build your personal work?
– Mine first!, As the saying goes. Cuban music is my natural way of feeling, is my first language. I play because I grew up with these reflections and I cannot help it. Regardless of having studied at the music school in Cubaand was lucky to have very good teachers, whom I will be grateful all my life and I’ve been expanding my knowledge because I am open to world music.
“There are genres that get you more than others, geographical or history approach, such as jazz and music inherited from Africa and Spain. I’m all ears and heart. All music that can inspire me to feel something new, to discover other concepts and colors, I let it get into my creative and interpretative world.
“I had the privilege of working, at 17 years old, with Chucho Valdes and Irakere. That marked me forever. It was a confirmation to many questions that I had pondered before. I also got enthralled by flamenco. The first time I had the opportunity to listen to it, went straight to my chest, I was dazzled. So I’ve looked for it and I’ve carried it with me with respect and affection.
“Life and music are one. They go together. So they are everywhere, and my work is the result of what I have lived until now. I hope to continue growing and cultivating my little music color world “.
-You have close ties with Paco de Lucía. How has it been working with him? How do you insert in his concept of music?
-The truth is that I learned a lot from Paco. He has given me the privilege of being in the big leagues in this genre. Beside I lived intensely with much rigor and professionalism, defending the legacy and importance of his work. My relationship with him is one of friendship and respect, which we have shared for nearly a decade. I have traveled the world at his side, giving everything in every concert. Everyone knows who Paco de Lucía is. Enough said. No flamenco without Paco. God willed it so.
“My interest in flamenco came the day I listened to it at will. Then the force and sincerity that I felt then burned and invited me to take refuge in it… So I got carried away, I felt it was part of my ancestors and that was something I had to do to understand it, because I felt it. Today I cannot get it away from me. I feel it is a more of my language. Flamenco is very difficult. The rhythm, the harmony and melody, move in different compass and accent, very different from what we are accustomed to. Although I was born in Cuba, the birthplace of rhythm, that is another way of being “.
‘You’ve collaborated with important Cuban and foreign musicians, it would be interesting to explain how you manage to combine their musical visions and find the exact spot to produce their albums.
-The most important thing is knowing what the artist wants, share his idea and get it ripen as you are choosing the repertoire, arrangements, etc…
“I want them to feel comfortable, that is a point of complicity between them, for the good of the final result of the production. Not always the producer is right, you have to be flexible and a good listener. This causes the energy in the study to flow positively.
Another important thing is to find the right artist for him to reflect and understand the concept of the music that is being done. “
– What will we see of Alain Pérez in the Leo Brouwer? Are we going to be surprised with a proposal in solitaire?
-At the moment I have not made any proposals for the Festival all by myself. I’m with the aces along Paco de Lucia and I am happy to play in my country with a world figure. I think it’s an event that will mark a precedent and serve as inspiration for Cuban musicians. Thanks to maestro Leo Brouwer for the invitation and for doing so much for Cuban music in the world.
Quick Tour
Alain Pérez Rodríguez (Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus, April 20, 1977) started in music at age eight as a child singer in a group called Cielito Lindo, in the province of Cienfuegos, with which he participated in festivals throughout the island He studied at the Manuel Saumell conservatory classical guitar and piano as a complementary tool. Upon graduating from ENA, he was already part, as a vocalist and arranger, of the prestigious group Irakere, led by Chucho Valdes.
He was also a member of Team Cuba in 1998, consisting of stars of Cuban music that made a European tour.
Among his recordings plates we can find El desafio (Bat Records, 2000), En el Aire (AYVA MUSIC, 2006) and Apetecible (Globomediamusic, 2010). He was awarded first prize in the III edition of SGAE Latin Jazz with the work En el Aire, in 2002, and for nine years it was the headliner of the first Latin Jazz Festival in Spain, held in cities of Madrid and Barcelona, where it received the best reviews from the press.
In his work with the Spanish musician Paco de Lucia for almost a decade, we have to add collaborations with artists like Isaac Delgado and his group-in which he played the bass and then-musical director and arranger, Celia Cruz, Habana Abierta, Estrella Morente, Enrique Morente, Diego el Cigala, Niño Josele, Paquito de Rivera, Israel “Cachao” López, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jerry González, Giovanni Hidalgo, David Valentín, Jorge Pardo, Rubem Dantas and the Orquesta Nacional de Jazz de España, among others.
* We thank the Office of the maestro Leo Brouwer for arranging this interview.
Author
Yelanys Hernández Fusté
