Every other summer, Fred Benedetti and George Svoboda make their regular visit to the islands, guitars in hand, ready to release the magic that is flamenco and eastern European gypsy music. Flamenco guitarists
road gypsiesBy Gary C. W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comSince 1996 the two musicians have made their stop in Hawaii a working vacation with a series of interisland concert dates (they head toward Europe in alternating years).
For Benedetti, the trip marks a return to his childhood home. His late father was a career Navy man who met his wife during the postwar occupation of Japan. The couple later transferred to Honolulu, and Benedetti attended Aliamanu Elementary in Salt Lake.
While he has no extended family here, he still has friends who live here. Both he and Svoboda have based their homes and teaching and music careers out of San Diego, and the two of them shared the same background as solo and classical players before joining forces.
"We actually both knew of each other before we played together," Benedetti said by phone from his home Tuesday. "But we didn't know that both he and I actually played in two different klezmer bands (the traditional music of East European Jews) in the same area. While we're both primarily classically trained, as a duo for 15 years, we write originals as well as play flamenco and gypsy music.
"We met through a mutual friend and guitarist of ours, and all three of us formed a trio that lasted all of five months," he said. "While George and I built a sympathetic rapport, we just weren't jelling as a trio."
Their friend moved on to become music department chairman at Grossmount College in San Diego, where the two also teach.
Along with the Spanish flamenco the duo plays, the gypsy folk music they feature comes from Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. "It's fiery, raw, very energetic and exciting music," Benedetti said, "an extremely soulful music where the importance is to express emotion and feeling, not just a display of technique. Something like flamenco, it's not so much cerebral, but akin to a kind of Spanish blues.
"The strumming patterns are very elaborate rhythmically," he said, "similar to jazz, where there is a head melody and accompaniment, and then we improvise over the form. With flamenco puro, pure flamenco, we work out an arrangement, but with the gypsy and original material, we can improvise more over the chord changes."
Benedetti said that they are always cognizant of what their audiences are reacting to more, whether it's the flamenco or gypsy music. But by the second set, it usually follows the pattern of "starting off strong, toning it down a bit with the popular Adagio from Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez," then end with a Macedonian gypsy tune, where we basically thrash our hands and guitars!" The duo has even thrown in a bit of shtick by playing with the guitars behind their backs.
While constant touring can be hard on their fingernails, regardless of how many layers of clear polish they put on them, and on their guitars, with their ever-diminishing tones, Benedetti said the duo still forges on, to the delight of their impassioned audiences worldwide. "Nothing can take away from our guitar playing, so long as we have the physical ability to perform," he said.
When and where: 2 p.m. Sunday at "The Church," 2500 Pali Highway, at the corner of Niolopa St., by Queen Emma's Summer Palace and 7:30 p.m. at KHPR's Atherton Studio, 738 Kaheka St. A master guitar duo
Admission: $13 advance at Island Guitars and Hungry Ear in Kailua/$15 at the door (youths up to 18 free)
Call: 955-8821
Neighbor island tours
>> Today in Hilo: 7:30 p.m. at the Church of Holy Apostles, 1417 Kapiolani, below University of Hawai'i at Hilo
>> Tomorrow in Kona: 7:30 p.m. at the Aloha Theater in Kainalu Town
>> Aug. 3 and 4: 7:30 p.m. at Parrish Hall on Nawiliwili Road, in Lihue, Kauai
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calendars and events.
