A Piece of Joy
The beautiful thing about Latin culture, is that it is always evolving without losing its connection to its traditions and rich history. Chris Burton Jácome is an example of how a musician creates comptemporary music on traditions of Flamenco music. From influences such as Van Halen to directing a Flamenco Music group, it's easy to see why Chris sees joy in all people and music.
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BFC: Can you tell a little about your early days?
I was born and raised in Tucson, AZ., where I would say the culture was of love and support. Honestly, I was completely oblivious to race, religion, ethnicity…I think one of the many gifts my family gave me was that they didn’t inculcate any pre-determined beliefs in these areas. They allowed me the space to come to decisions/conclusions on my own. I guess this could have been dangerous if my parents weren’t such good/genuine people. Man, I’m lucky! Anyway, what is so interesting is that it took my love of flamenco to discover and embrace my Hispanic heritage. I had heard Spanish at home occasionally with cousins or Great Aunts and Uncles, but I never really said, “Hey, I’m Mexican”. My mom is third generation Mexican-American.
BFC: Were your parents musciains?
Musicians, no…we did have instruments in the house, an organ, a guitar…did I ever see them PLAY the instruments…maybe 3 times. But they were BIG fans of music. They played Pop music mostly…my dad was more into country music so I heard Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, but also artists such as Neil Diamond and the Beach Boys. Mom was more into Top 40 stuff, so I got in to ABBA, Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack, the Bee-Gees, but she also shared with me the love of opera and mariachi music. Wild huh!
BFC: You said by age of 13 your musical influences ranged from Michael Jackson to Van Halen. What was it about this music that stirred your interest to pick up the guitar?
I don’t know if you intentionally mentioned those 2 simultaneously, but I find it interesting that Eddie Van Halen played guitar on the “Beat It” song…remember? Anyway, I was listening to Van Halen and also Pop Music (although there’s a strong argument that Van Halen is pop music), but one of my cousins got an electric guitar. It was the catalyst to me asking for my OWN guitar. I was like, well if he can do it, I can do it too!
I know I loved Eddie Van Halen, I mean, my walls were COVERED with everything Van Halen so I know I wanted to be a Rock Star on some level…still do, I guess. But there was so much good music out there that I quickly was detoured from learning Van Halen to just playing lots of different music on electric guitar. I honestly wasn’t too focused on guitar at first, I enjoyed playing but for the first 4-5 years I had no idea it would end up being my profession.
BFC: During high school, your interest grew to heavy music, such as Metallica, Megadeth and Joe Satriani and as your appreciation for melody developed as well, what did you learn about melody and why was it so influential at that stage of your life?
Melody was what all of that early music from my parents had ingrained in my sub-conscious. That’s why Satriani is so incredible…he is able to restrain his “chops” and play melodies that can be sung. They stick in your head. I am sure there are composers/musicians out there that feel that creating music like that is a “sell-out”…I think that those composers forget that most people who enjoy music have very little working-knowledge of music. Their enjoyment has absolutely nothing to do with theory or technique. It is so easy with theory or on any instrument to get lost in technique and never find your way out. I have certainly gone through periods where I’ve overdosed on practicing speed techniques and such, but what Satriani does is play music with a facility and grace almost unmatched.
I got into Metallica/Megadeth, etc. because I was offered a chance to play in a cover band that covered this “harder” music. I really didn’t enjoy it until I played it with the band. Then I was hooked. This music is TONS-O-FUN to play on guitar and it has so much rhythm and power.
BFC: How did your parents feel about your interest in music at that time?
I think they tolerated my musical interests exceptionally well. Always…even up to letting my Metallica/Megadeth cover band practice in the living room!
BFC: In your continued education, your music appreciation also seemed to grow. You list J.S Bach and other classical guitar composers as major influences, but you said your interest focused in on flamenco. Why did you choose flamenco?
Flamenco was a “calling” for me. I had been introduced to flamenco by my primary guitar teacher in CA, the guy who got me into “shredding” too. Albert Marques (I have a podcast about this on my website) introduced me to flamenco and so I started buying some CDs (a brand new format at the time) and listened for several years without extended interest. My interest in music was growing however and after a couple years of Electrical Engineering pre-reqs at the local community college I decided that music was really where my heart was leading. To make a long story short, one day while driving in my car (I had since moved back to Tucson), I was listening to the flamenco guitarist Gerardo Nunez and I had an epiphany. I KNEW, like I know my name, that I HAD to play flamenco guitar. It was at this point that I dropped everything else. I got into the U of A and started studying classical guitar to begin using my right hand without a pick and also I knew that I wanted a degree and that seemed most applicable to my future of being a flamenco guitarist.
BFC: How much of your culture, parents or education influenced your interest in flamenco, if any?
Actually, it’s the opposite for me…once the flamenco switch got turned on in me, it influenced everything in my life…I was suddenly interested in my Hispanic roots, I decided I wanted to learn Spanish so I also earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature at the U of A. I discovered that my Mom’s last name, “Jácome”, from what I’ve been told is a Sephardic Jewish name and while living in Sevilla I discovered that there is a “Jácome” chapel in the cathedral there! Pretty wild!!!
BFC: For those of us who do not know, can you give us a very brief history of flamenco and tell us what is the beauty of this music?
Caray! Flamenco is a gypsy art form primarily from the south of Spain (Andalucia) but whose influences are vast. If I had to make a cultural synonym I would compare flamenco to the Blues from America…A completely marginalized community’s form of expression through singing, dance and guitar.
BFC: Flamenco dancing seems to be an integral part of the experience. How important is the communication and expression between the dancers and the musician?
It is Essential. Fundamentally, flamenco is all about the singing. I like to say that flamenco is really the art of communication between the singer, dancer and guitarist/accompanists. The only part of those three elements that can be done without the others and still be called, “flamenco” is the singing, or cante. There are artists out there that throw around the word “flamenco” without knowing what its origin is. This can especially happen in the guitar and dance. You can have someone with a nylon string guitar play the harmonies/keys of flamenco, and may even be top notch with technique and execution, but if they don’t know how to accompany a singer and dancer I don’t feel that they can call themselves flamenco guitarists. Of course, nothing is black or white with any art…anyone could argue differently, but this will give non-flamencos some kind of reference.
BFC: You've spoken about many musical influences but what makes your music unique to you?
I am tempted not to answer this because I am actually still looking for the answer myself. I think it’s very important as an artist to be able to answer these questions and it is only in the last few months that I’ve set out to do that and have had a HECK OF A TIME. To me…I believe I have the ability (I don’t think this is unique) to bring a collection of my life experiences and share them through my music in a pure and honest way. As a youngster I had a lot of health problems, I was born with a birth defect (cleft lip & palette) and had multiple re-constructive surgeries for that, I then contracted a rare bone disease called, “Leg Perthes” and was unable to walk from the age of 6-9 years old, then in high school I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnia (probably due to my birth defect and the corrective surgeries for that) and had to undergo several major corrective surgeries for that. I am much better now though! I feel that all of those experiences brought me so many wonderful gifts, but one of those is that I have a huge appreciation for life. I am passionate and wake up every morning ready to live and do whatever I can in that day. I feel that I bring that to my music as well. Fresh sounds…I have a LOT of music in my head. I don’t go out looking for fresh sounds; they find me without much problem and mostly by happy accidents. I do enjoy picking up electric guitars or steel string guitars, maybe plunking away on a piano for a change of feel. I would describe my sound as a mix between Paco de Lucia, Joe Satriani, Sting, Segovia and hmmm…someone new…maybe Jack Johnson? What I enjoy is even if a song is an instrumental, I want the listener to be able to sing along and remember the melodies.
BFC: As the musical director for Calo Flamenco, Ballet de Martin Gaxiola, what is most rewarding about directing the group?
The group itself. I have found so much personal growth and satisfaction from being a “manager” to the musicians/singers and even the dancers at times. I so enjoy seeing all of the artists develop and I really enjoy the challenge of learning everyone’s style of communication and figuring out what works and what doesn’t…and each individual is exactly that, individual…I have to adapt how I speak and communicate with everyone individually. It’s tiring sometimes with anywhere between 15-20 artists on our roster, but it sure has been rewarding and wonderful.
BFC: Does the group travel or how can people see a show?
Yes. I perform concerts throughout the US as the Chris Burton Jácome Flamenco Ensemble (check my website for tour dates) and then I travel with Calo Flamenco too (also on my website). We are excited to announce that we will be opening our 5th Season in New York City in September and we’ll be traveling a LOT this Fall. It’s phenomenal!
BFC: Final question, you say, "All of us are creators". What is your advice for someone who is looking to find their voice or medium for expression?
What a great question! Being a performing artist is interesting because I have the interesting aspect that complete strangers come to watch/hear me work. I get to meet wonderful, exciting new people weekly and there have been numerous times where in a small conversation I will hear the concert-goer say something like, “oh, I’m just a (insert any job here), I’m not an artist like you”. I know they’re just being humble, but really it underlies a bigger philosophy…I believe that whether you’re a custodian, a receptionist, teacher, president, musician…whatever, you have the chance/choice every day to complete your work/day/tasks with art (meaning purpose, dignity, creativity, grace, etc.). Now, I understand that not everyone is going to work every day to a job that they’re passionate about…how do you find that voice? I can’t recommend highly enough the book, “The Alchemist”. You can read it in one evening. I know that my heart directs my decisions/path, and I feel that the message in the book couldn’t be more correct…that if you ignore what your heart says long enough, it will stop talking to you. I can guarantee that if someone were really searching for that passion in their lives, reading “The Alchemist” would be a catalyst to a renewed relationship with their heart/inner desires/voice or medium for expression.
BFC: OK really this is the last question. How can people aspire to be a little piece of joy?
Wow, you’re asking all the DEEP questions!!! Quick answer: There is no aspiring required. Every single person on this planet is a piece of joy. Whether or not they’re allowing that joy to manifest itself is another question, but all of us have the ability to bring joy to others.
See Chris in action in the screening theater.
8/08 PM
