| Alejandro Sanz (Madrid, 1980) wisely unites modernity and tradition, but adding his very particular requirements, since the spirit of flamenco acts like a thermometer reading his states of mind, and helping him manipulate whimsically --a smile always in the way- the very roots of his solid and prolific musical career. These impressions are reflected in a convincing discography affirming Alejandro's peculiar attitude on the stage, where his voice breaks to meet the sentimental expectations of those who listen to him. In his extensive catalogue nothing looks half-finished. You can find tears and dancing, cigarettes' smoke and absence. The same way, his pictorial and photographic productions are only another vehicle to make the mind of the observers explode. Because Sanz is a fireworks artist, and he is able to laugh in the face of that sorrow he sings about, since he is inviting us to a party. In his records you can listen to the sound of cities, of objects, of his own family. Alejandro's parents, Jesús Sánchez Madero and María Pizarro Medina, born in Algeciras and Alcalá de los Gazules (Cádiz-Spain), opened for him the gate of sound, as their life was coming and going (Jesús was member of two bands). From Andalucía and its endless fiesta to Madrilenian districts like Pueblo Nuevo and Moratalaz, Alejandro's childhood was rooted in straightforward flamenco, in an atmosphere of bulerías, farrucas and martinetes; but he also lived the playful side of this genre, sevillanas ... |
