Tony Bryant

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Do we need another version of Harvest Moon? Elizabeth Zeder and her “weird well of musicians”

Elizabeth Zeder - Karl Smallman I seldom get excited when asked to review the recording of a cover version of a song of which I am particularly fond of the original. I am a staunch believer that original versions cannot be bettered. How can a cover version be better than what the composer originally envisaged for their music? Of course, there are exceptions, but few and far between. What is even more difficult is when the request for a critical ear comes from a friend, acquaintance or someone I respect. As I said, there are, occasionally, exceptions to the rule, one of which landed on my desk recently. Last year, I had the pleasure of interviewing Elizabeth Zeder, an American jazz singer based in Gaucín. Elizabeth has established herself among what is fast becoming a thriving music community in the Serranía de Ronda (Málaga), and so she had no trouble selecting suitable musicians to participate in the recording of her latest offering, a jazzy-pop-style version of Harvest Moon. The

La Fernanda and La Bernarda de Utrera documentary

Last year, the town of Utrera (Seville) marked the 100 th anniversary of the birth of La Fernanda de Utrera, who was born at 22 Calle Nueva on 9 February 1923, with a series of cultural initiatives. Flamenco recitals, exhibitions and tertulias about this outstanding flamenco singer and her sister, La Bernarda, took place at various locations in the town throughout the year. One of the most eagerly awaited of these initiatives was a documentary about these two divas that was to be made by La Filmahora, with the collaboration of Canal Sur television, and Utrera town hall, among others. [1] I had been contacted by the producer, Rocio Martín, who asked if I would like to participate, an offer which I accepted wholeheartedly. Rocío had previously contacted my good friend Luis El Marquesito to obtain information about the family, especially the line of Inés Peña Vargas, the mother of La Fernanda and La Bernarda, and the daughter of the mythical El Pinini, a singer whose family I ha

'Flamenco; an Englishman's passion' comes of age

Flamenco; an Englishman’s passion was my first foray into the world of flamenco, a book that I was very privileged to have published by flamenco sapiens , the editorial arm of the Museo del Baile Flamenco in Seville. Since its first publication in the summer of 2006, just a few months after this state-of-the-art museum (the first and only one of its kind in the world) opened its doors, the book has become the one that my career as a writer has been most associated with. I have since completed a trilogy of books concerning the art of flamenco and the people who (in my humble opinion) best perform it – the Andalusian Gypsies, but it the first book - celebrating its 18 th birthday, or coming of age, this year - that is the one that has received the most attention. Some of the literary platforms like Good Reads claimed that the book “ taps into flamenco's history and is a great learning resource for anyone with an interest in flamenco”; while Google Books said, “ This book p

Gitanerías: the essence of flamenco

Most towns and villages in the lower region of Andalusia have shared a similar existence over the years, and although much of Spain has changed considerably since Franco’s demise, many of the smaller villages still adhere to a very traditional way of living. Franco had at first condemned interference from the western world after his victory in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), so Spain’s doors remained tightly shut to what was happening in the rest of Europe and America. At the dawn of the 1950s, most of Europe had started to recover from the effects of the Second World War and many countries began to prosper both commercially and culturally. Spain, however, was in the grip of the iron-fist of martial law and Catholicism, which kept the country locked in an era of totalitarianism. Franco established policies that were highly favourable to the Catholic Church ( the only legal state religion), like banning civil marriages, making divorce illegal and religious education compulsory

Seeing as the large foreign communities based along the coast rely on the efforts of volunteer-run charities, associations, clubs and informative platforms, my work often involves highlighting fundraising campaigns, and the work of those charities which struggle, and overcome huge barriers, to keep their ships afloat. Probably the most well-known Costa charity is Cudeca ( which derives from Cuidados del Cáncer) , the cancer hospice founded by Joan Hunt in 1992. The charity began in her house and has since become a pioneer in palliative care in Spain. The volunteers and staff, along with a vast army of supporters, of the Benalmádena-based hospice have raised millions of euros over the years to help people die with dignity. Along with the hospice, the charity opened a new education centre in 2022, and also boasts the only children and teenager’s palliative care unit in Andalusia. All this, and a lot more than I have outlined, was achieved by the sheer determination and hard w

The ultimate sacrifice of love

One of the topics that attracted a lot of media attention in 2018 was the Spanish Congress agreeing to consider a bill drafted by the governing Socialist Party (PSOE) to make euthanasia a right that would be available through the public healthcare system in Spain. The proposal had a majority backing from left-wing Unidos Podemos, and from regional Catalan, Valencian and Basque parties. However, the main opposition, Party Popular (PP), opposed the bill, while Ciudadanos expressed its concerns. The debate was reignited in Spain after Madrileño Ángel Hernández was arrested for ending his wife’s life by administering a lethal dose of pentobarbital, a drug used in physician- assisted suicide in the Netherlands. Hernández spent a night in a Madrid police station, before appearing in court the following day. He was released on bail pending an inquiry. At the time, euthanasia was considered homicide in Spain, so the country’s criminal code punished co-operators in assisted suicide, alb