Juan Reynoso and Mexican
Don Juan Reynoso has arrived!
Juan Reynoso and sons
...live at The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes!
Words cannot express how proud we at Swing Cat are to be able to offer recordings of the phenomenal fiddling of the great Juan Reynoso, known as the "Paganini of Tierra Caliente." Señor Reynoso's virtuoso performances in Port Townsend, Washington, in 1996 and '97 set the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes on its collective ear.
Once virtually unknown outside of Mexico's Tierra Caliente - the "Hot Lands" - don Juan's style of fiddling is a blending of age-old traditional tunes with the powerful works of composers such as Isaías Salmerón (Reynoso's teacher), Juan Bartolo Tavira and don Juan himself. From fiery showpieces filled with trumpet-like fanfares to achingly beautiful waltzes, this music must be heard to be believed.
Legend has it that Isaías Salmerón possessed powers of sorcery that could make non-musicians to whom he handed a fiddle magically able to play, and even cause a fiddle resting in a chair to play by itself. Don Juan does not believe in sorcery, but those of us who have heard his wizardry on the instrument are convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that he makes incredibly powerful magic happen with each bow stroke. Hear for yourself!
About the Music of Tierra Caliente
In Mexico's "Hot Lands" during the 1920s and '30s mileposts on the road of life such as christenings, weddings and funerals were passed to the pulse of the string band. These groups typically consisted of one or more violins, a guitarre panzona, or "belly guitar," (a small fretless guitar with a small deep body and a short neck), and a tamborita, (a small drum whose body and rim are carved from the wood of two species of native trees). These bands played a mixture of traditional music - songs whose roots often stretched back centuries and echoed with the sounds of Spain, Africa and the Caribbean - and composed songs.
Tierra Caliente had a number of exceptionally talented composers. Juan Bartolo Tavira was one. Bardomiano Flores, nicknamed "El Bravito," was another. One man who was truly in a class by himself, however, was the legendary Isaías Salmerón. Don Isaías contributed literally hundreds of sones, gustos and other musical works to the fabric of Tierra Caliente. To the best of our knowledge he never recorded, and was little-known outside of the region. A fondness for señoritas and mezcal undoubtedly shortened his lifespan, as he died at the age of 52 in 1942, but while the fire of his life still burned he took on a young discípulo. That kid, whose father called him a "crazy child" when he first asked for a violin, was Juan Reynoso.
Fifty years later, the boy who was once known as "Juan el guachi," (guachi meaning 'little' in the local indigenous language) is anything but little in the musical world. A true giant and the undisputed master of the devilishly difficult Calentana style, don Juan has recently seen his fame spread far beyond the confines of Tierra Caliente. His performances at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington, have been met with tumultuous applause, and there he finds dozens of eager students willing to try to tackle his difficult repertoire. Increasing fame has come to him at home as well, with the Mexican government awarding him the 1997 National Prize for Science and the Arts.
The Swing Cat says, "one listen and you'll fall in love."
On all these volumes don Juan is accompanied on guitar by his sons Neyo and Javier. While the listener is immediately struck by don Juan's genius, it soon becomes clear that Neyo and Javier are truly exceptional musicians as well, laying down stellar backup on music that is often quite difficult. The job of the two sons is not made any easier by the fact that don Juan is digging deep in his memory to come up with unusual and seldom played tunes. On the tape of one session, Neyo mentions that whenever the Reynoso family comes to the Fiddle Tunes festival he and Javier have to work particularly hard, as their father plays a lot of tunes that they have never heard before.
These live recordings were recorded digitally, and we at Swing Cat feel that you'll be quite pleased with the sound quality. If you've heard don Juan and his sons we know that you'll want these recordings for your collection. If you've not yet heard the "Paganini of the Tierra Caliente" prepare for a treat. This music is indescribably beautiful and passionate. The Swing Cat is certain that you'll love it.
Swing Cat has other Juan Reynoso recordings "in the can", including the superlative live performance presented by don Juan's quintet in Mexico City as part of Lindajoy Fenley's Encuentro de Dos Tradiciones festival, and hopes to release them soon.
Also in the planning stages are a series called Lessons With don Juan. Paul Anastasio recently had the distinct honor of being invited to don Juan's home for a series of lessons. During these lessons he both recorded and transcribed close to twenty of the most intriguing tunes from don Juan's vast repertoire. Swing Cat hopes to be able to make these lessons available soon, presenting CDs with the tunes played by don Juan both at performance tempo and more slowly. The lesson packages will also contain music manuscript for the tunes.
For more information write, e-mail or call Paul.
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Juan Reynoso
Volume One: On Fire and In Concert Compact Disk: Swing Cat 1507 (1998) $18.00
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Juan Reynoso
Volume One: On Fire and In Concert Transcription Book and CD: Swing Cat 1507B (1998,2004) $28.00 This set includes both the original compact disk and a complete transcription of the music of Juan Reynoso. The transcription is extremely accurately notated with note-for-note transcriptions of the complete performance and includes guitar chords and some guitar countermelodies. |
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Juan Reynoso
Volume Two: Hot as Habanero Compact Disk: Swing Cat 1508 (1998) $18.00
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Juan Reynoso
Volume Two: Hot as Habanero Transcription Book and CD: Swing Cat 1508B (1998,2004) $28.00 This set includes both the original compact disk and a complete transcription of the music of Juan Reynoso. The transcription is extremely accurately notated with note-for-note transcriptions of the complete performance and includes guitar chords and some guitar countermelodies. |
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Juan Reynoso
Volume Three: Viva Tierra Caliente Compact Disk: Swing Cat 1509 (1998) $18.00
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Juan Reynoso
Volume Three: Viva Tierra Caliente Transcription Book and CD: Swing Cat 1509B (1998,2004) $28.00 This set includes both the original compact disk and a complete transcription of the music of Juan Reynoso. The transcription is extremely accurately notated with note-for-note transcriptions of the complete performance and includes guitar chords and some guitar countermelodies. |
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Juan Reynoso
Volume Four: With Passion Compact Disk: Swing Cat 1510 (1998) $18.00
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Juan Reynoso
Volume Four: With Passion Transcription Book and CD: Swing Cat 1510B (1998,2004) $28.00 This set includes both the original compact disk and a complete transcription of the music of Juan Reynoso. The transcription is extremely accurately notated with note-for-note transcriptions of the complete performance and includes guitar chords and some guitar countermelodies. |
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Juan Reynoso
Genius of Mexico's Tierra Caliente Compact Disk: Arhoolie CD509 (2003) $18.00
Juan Reynoso was born under the blazing sun in Santa Domingo, Guerrero, in the heart of southwestern Mexico's Tierra Caliente on June 24th, 1912. The Mexican Revolution was still raging throughout the country and Juan never had the opportunity to go to school, but from the time he was a tiny child he was enchanted by the sound of the violin. One day an orphan boy who lived with the Reynosos stole a small violin from a nearby market, and he and Juan used to fight over who would get to play it. Juan eventually won out and soon began to learn the region's repertoire. Accompanied by his father Felipe, he would carry his violin to wherever people congregated, offering "tres por dos," or three pieces of music for two centavos. Juan soon began to spend time with the best musicians of the region, carefully learning the sones, gustos, pasodobles and waltzes of the Hot Lands entirely by ear. As he grew to adulthood, Juan's musicianship and fame grew as well, and before long his group was highly sought after for weddings, christenings and parties. However, he loved to work in the fields as well, and for many years supported his large family by sowing and harvesting sorghum, sesame and corn. He now regrets not taking his music more seriously when he was younger. Juan did take a small group to Mexico City in the late 1940's, securing steady work on radio station XEX, but in a recent interview he said that he liked nothing about city life, and, after little more than a year in the city, he returned home to Tierra Caliente. By the early 1990's some of Juan's recordings had begun to be distribute in the United States. His international fame, however, began to grow by leaps and bounds in 1996, when he and two of his sons were invited to play and teach at The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington. Here his remarkable repertoire and passionate, heartfelt playing were introduced to a new and appreciative audience. With his star rapidly rising, Juan in 1997 received Mexico's highest arts award, the National Prize in Science and Arts. In additon, the folks at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes were sufficiently impressed by his virtuosity that he and his group were invited to return each year. Sensing that these audiences truly appreciated the music he had devoted his life to learning, Juan's performances for the past eight years at the Fiddle Tunes festival have always been among his very best. The disc you are now listening to consists of a carefully chosen selection of the best recordings from Juan's festival appearances between 1997 and 2001. Most of these performannces have never been issued before, although a few have been drawn from four Juan Reynoso CDs originally issued on the Swing Cat label (www.SwingCatEnterprises.com). We sincerely hope that you enjoy this music, the life's work of Juan Reynoso, the Genius of Mexico's Hot Lands. - Paul Anastasio, August, 2003 Cuts:
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We at Swing Cat hope that you will decide to let the Reynoso family come and live in your CD collection. The Reynosos are paid a generous royalty for each CD sold. If you love their music as much as we do, rather than taping copies for your friends we ask you to support the Reynosos by ordering additional CDs directly from Swing Cat. This will also help make it possible for us to issue additional volumes featuring the beautiful music of don Juan and his family in the future.
Other Mexican Music
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Dos Tradiciones Volume One
Compact Disk: Dos Tradiciones DTRCD 01 (1999) $18.00
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Musica de Ichupio, Michoacán, México
Mirando al Lago Compact Disk: Swing Cat 1615 (2002) $18.00
Mirando al Lago (Looking Toward the Lake) is an orquestra de cuerdas, or string band from Ichupio, a small P'urhepecha village located on the shores of beautiful Lake Pátzcuaro in the state of Michoacán. The group was named after Don Pedro Dimas' signature composition created for La Danza de los Tumbis / The Dance of the Young People. In P'urhepecha communities throughout northern Michoacán, music is very much an integral part of traditional life. Feast days, the Day of the Dead, weddings and baptisms are richly woven with the bright colors of flowers, the smell of steaming mole and of course the strains of traditional music. Bandas (brass bands), orquestas de cuerdas (string bands) and singers of pirekuas (songs) are part of the region's musical heritage. This recording exemplifies one aspect of a vibrant culture, containing 20 exceptional compositions by Don Pedro Dimas as well as two traditional pieces. Master musician Pedro Dimas is one of Michoacán's folkloric treasures. His only recording -- "Orquesta de Cuerdas de Ichupio" was an L.P. produced by the Casa de Artesanias in Morelia some years ago which is no longer available. It is our goal at Swing Cat to make this exceptional music available to a wider listening audience and save for posterity. |
Copyright © 1997-2007 Swing Cat Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.
Last updated November 10, 2007.