#188 José Montaña- Cajon Master, Percussionist, Educator, Author and More!
This week’s guest is José Montaña. José Born in Madrid (Spain) 1984, he started his studies at the age of 14 in the school of music Maestro Gombau (Madrid)
At the age of 16 he made his first debut in a series of flamenco festivals called "Los Almaizares” playing with Jose de Luna. One of his deep foundations is the Porrina Cajon family, friends since he was a child. He had the opportunity to learn from them and from the best cajón player and percussionist Israel Suarez "El Piraña". Also, Lucky Losada, Ramon Porrina & Sabú Porrina were very inspirational to him as percussionists. As he continued to develop in the Flamenco world he took Afro-cuban lessons with Miguel "Anga" diaz, The multi-percusionist Pepe Espinosa, The singer and percussionist Pedro "pedrito" Martinez, Jose Luis Quintana o"Changuito", Tata Guines , Giovanni Hidalgo and a lot more. He studied in Cuba with Chucho Valdes’ percussion player, Yaroldi Abreu, and with Adonis Panter, former Quinto player of the group Yoruba Andabo now director of Osain del monte.
The biggest inspiration for his music is the multi-instrumentalist and bass player Alain Perez (Paco de Lucia ́s Group) who is also his teacher and of course the Latin Jazz master Jerry Gonzalez! In the way of the most purest flamenco he studied in Amor de Dios (Flamenco School from Madrid) taking the rhythm from the most interesting part of flamenco...."the dance", And Developing that Into the CAJÓN...Starting to perform with the rhythmically virtuosos flamenco dancers like Alfonso Losa,Nino de los reyes,Juan de juan, Antonio y Manuel Reyes,Antonio Canales and much more.
Drawn by the purest forms of flamenco he studied at the legendary flamenco center Amor De Dios. He absorbed the rhythms of the flamenco footwork and developed that on the CAJÓN. He began to perform with rhythmic virtuosos and flamenco dancers such as Alfonso Losa, Nino de los reyes, Juan de juan, Antonio y Manuel Reyes, Antonio Canales and many more. He is also fluent in African drumming, Bata, Djembe, Dum Dum, Brazilian percussion, Afro-Peruvian and Hindu music leaving him the open space for Fusion. He has been playing with all this amazing artist of Jazz, Flamenco, Cuban Music, Pop and World music such as: Alain Perez, Richard Bona, Jorge Pardo, Chano Dominguez ,Antonio Rey, Antonio Serrano, Javier Limon, Antonio Canales, Jerry Gonzalez, Montse Cortés, Javier Massó Caramelo, Tino di Geraldo, Juan José Suárez “Paquete”, Enrique Heredia “El negri”, Israel Fernandez, Rafael Amargo, Rojas & Rodriguez, Cristobal Reyes & Juana Amaya, Amador Rojas, Agustin Carbonell “El Bola” ̈, Lara Bello, Sandra Carrasco, Dan Ben lior, Paco Cruz, Nino de los Reyes, La Talegona, David Paniagua y Sonia Olla, Javier Colina, Diego Guerrero, Rycardo Moreno,Aleph (Libano), Yelsy Heredia, Pete Lockett, Yuri Juarez, Carlos Sarduy, Marinah (Ojos de Brujo).
Now as a De Gregorio Cajón Artist is performing at all the best international Percussion Festivals like: Namm (California USA), Fiesta Del Tambor (Habana Cuba), XIV Seminari Cajón (Barcelona Spain), D52Ankara Drumfest (Turkey), Drumscene Magazine, London Drum Show (Great Britain), Singapore Drum Festival Ultimate weekend (Singapore), New York Masterclass at CCC Center for the performing arts, Australia Ultimate Drummers Weekend #AUDW (Australia), Perfoming with Eric Moore, Cris Coleman, Dave Elicht, John Riley, Greg Bisonette and many more!
Endorsed By Cajón DG, Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals & G-Drums He is currently Doing Workshops all around Spain.Europe and EEUU Since 2016 He has being doing Workshops around the globe Italy (Borgolavezzaro Milan, Torino Novara, Verbania, Rome), Germany (Köln Düsseldorf), Turkey (Ankara Istambul), Singapore, London, New York, Australia (Sidney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane), Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao, Murcia), Encajonarte ,Primitivo, Escola, D’Akokan, France (Paris Studio bleu), South Korea (Seoul) At Cajon Center, Canadá At Studio Zuruba with PercuSoul (Quebec, Toronto) Gran Canaria Flamenco Estudio! “Cajón Afro” Masterclass Madrid Amazónico With José Montaña & Magerït Café Berlín 101BomBo! Masterclass NYC 2020, Masterclass Boston 2020
Gig Alerts
Damon is playing with Morgan James on Tuesday August 18th, in Pawling, NY at Daryl’s House Club. Donations are accepted for this Live Streaming Concert. It starts at 8pm and you can get more info and tickets by CLICKING HERE.
Educational Spotlight
Happy 2 Year Anniversary to Conga Chops. Conga Chops is the number one online resource for conga lessons, videos and tutorials. A vast collection of courses, rudiments, rhythms and conga technique. It is an educational percussion subscription page created by friend of the show Paulo Stagnaro (part 1 and part 2)
Iconic Recording
The iconic recording for this week is “Patio Custodio” from the ‘Cositas Buenas’ album by Paco de Lucia with Israel “Piraña" Suárez on cajon and percussion. Piraña is considered one of the greatest cajón players of all time and is an essential reference for percussionists around the world. He has played with artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Ricky Martin, Chick Corea, Paquito D’Rivera, and Wynton Marsalis, to name a few, and was a member of the great flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía’s band for more than 10 years.
One of the main contributors and lead actors in the evolution of the cajón, Piraña has adapted the instrument to genres outside of flamenco, raised its musical standard, and further developed cajón technique.
Music News
The musician’s guide to live streaming. In this article, They’ll briefly cover the history of live streaming and provide some helpful tips to get your started. If you’re already on the live streaming kick, you might learn something that will help take your game to the next level! -Article
Creating compelling live streams goes beyond setting up a camera and performing like you do on stage. Use these techniques to create a better performance, get more viewers, and make more money from your live stream show. -Article
Last week, I provided an update on stimulus package negotiations between White House officials and congressional leaders. Now, additional details about these ongoing talks are shedding light upon a timetable for some of the benefits – including a second stimulus check. -Article
A number of musicians are slamming Spotify CEO Daniel Ek over controversial comments he made during a recent interview. The 37-year-old Spotify co-founder delivered the contentious remarks following the release of his platform’s Q2 2020 earnings report, as part of a discussion that covered several topics. Prior to offering the quote that prompted many members of the music community to levy firmly worded (and often expletive-laden) retorts, Ek expressed the opinion that a portion of artists privately voice satisfaction with their Spotify royalties. -Article
The song leading into the interview is a cajon solo by José.
José Montaña Interview
Damon found out about José from friends of the show Pete Lockett, Kassandra Kocoshis and Diego “El Negro” Alvarez.
José is from the town Getafe, Spain just outside of Madrid. Andalucía is the birthplace of flamenco and you should take a trip there to see some of it if possible.
In the podcast episode with Jhair Sala, he talks about the history of the Cajon in Peru.
Damon mentions some of the Peruvian cajon rhythms to check out like: to Festejo (Damon mistakenly said Frevo, which is from the northeast part of Brazil), Lando, Zamacueca, Marinera, Vals & Tondero. Here are some links to more info on Peruvian music and dances.
As far as the many styles and genres in Flamenco, pictured below is the “tree” that José was referring to…..
Jose talks about the many Palos (songs) in Flamenco.
Zyryab —blackbird— nickname given to the Baghdadi-Cordoban Abu Al-Hasan Ali Ibn Nafi who lived between the years of 789 and 857 AD and decisively influenced the development of traditional Arab music on the Iberian peninsula. To him are credited, variously: the invention of the plectrum using the front feathers of an eagle; adding the fifth string to the lute; and the establishment of a music school, which was without precedent. He is traditionally considered to have been the father of the music of Al Andalus, music that brought together the wisdom of that magnificent cultural melting pot.
If you are interested in studying cajon with José, feel free to reach out to him via email: timbaflamencojazz@gmail.com.
The flamenco school that Jose attended is Amor de Dios (God’s Love).
José drops a few names to check out in the evolution of cajon playing in flamenco. First, is Rubem Dantas. He then mentions Antonio Carmona from the band Ketama. Finally he mentions Ramón Porrina.
José saw how far Piraña was going with rudiments and techniques on the cajon, that he started to research the roots of that in conga playing and then studied much more from the island of Cuba in the way of music and instruments.
Alain Perez is also an inspiration for José. He then mentions how great of a player and teacher Pepe Espinosa was for him.
“Shut your mouth, do your job, and keep working!” is what José would tell his younger self.
Having the freedom and ability to pick and choose which gigs to play is not only a luxury, but also a sign to José that he’s succeeding at being a working musician. He also talks about the stuff necessary OFF the stage. being a responsible human, doing the job required, and putting in the time on the instrument.
Damon brings up the shoe (and bag) company Pikolinos out of Spain.
José uses the DeGregorio Cajon, Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals, & G-Drums (and the PercuSnare). Special shout out to LP, GonBops and Moperc.
He will use a mixed percussion setup and change the instruments as necessary based on the ensemble he is playing with. José mentions Dany Moreno and his limb independence.
Manu Masaedo and Kike Terrón are really good friends of José and they have spent a lot of time together trying to push the envelope of cajon playing.
You can reach out to Jose to study with him via email: timbaflamencojazz@gmail.com or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
José talks about the two books he has written. One about the basics and fundamentals. This book also talks about how to play the cajon in various genres and styles that may not be traditional for the cajon to be a part of. There are also exercises and warmups to keep your hands in shape and more!
Book two is more about the phrases and “licks” you can explore as well as more avant garde things you can play. Both of these books are written and will hopefully be published soon!
The two books that Ed Uribe wrote that Damon mentions are HERE and HERE.
The song leading out of the interview is “Acuchilla” performed by Tony Moreaux Charon and José Montaña.
