Jose Menese
Biography Jose Menese
José Menese Scott
was born in 1942 in La Puebla de Cazalla (Seville). He began singing at the age of 8, in his father's shoe store and at festivals.
In 1959, after performing in theaters in La Puebla and at the Café Central, he made his debut at the Cine Carretria in Osuna, where he was introduced by Antonio Mairena. After being introduced to the world of flamenco singing among his friends, Menese joined the cast of the tablao Zambra from 1963 to 1968, alongside Pericón de Cádiz, Perico el del Lunar, Rafael Romero, Juan Varea, and Rosa Durán. He participated in a short film made for German television, singing for La Singla, which was so successful that it led to a subsequent tour throughout Germany.
In 1967, at the initiative of José Menese, and under the ethical and aesthetic imperative of Francisco Moreno Galván, the Reuniones del Cante Jondo (Foundations of Cante Jondo) began in La Puebla de Cazalla. In 1968, he married Encarnación Gil. In 1969, he was named "Famous" of Seville.
Among his many performances, in the 1970s, he participated in the Festival of Iberian Song in Paris. In 1973 and 1974, he gave two recitals at the Olympia in Paris. In 1974, he made his official debut in Madrid at the Teatro Marquina, accompanied by Manolo Brenes on guitar and Paco Valdepeñas on compás. Shortly after, he enjoyed great success at the Teatro Barceló in Madrid. In Barcelona, he performed at the Palau de la Música and the Galería Juana Mordó. In 1975, he sang the interlude from Falla's "La Vida Breve" at the Teatro Real in Madrid with the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra, conducted by Odón Alonso. In 1985, with the Spanish National Orchestra and Choir, he performed in New York at the United Nations Day Concert, accompanied by Enrique de Melchor on guitar.
In 1991 and 1992, he gave two recitals at the National Auditorium, the first with Enrique de Melchor and the second as part of the music program of the Autonomous University with Enrique de Melchor and Juan Carmona Habichuela on guitar. In 1991, he performed at the Auditorium of the Cervantes Institute in Paris in the Tribute Concert to Manuel de Falla, alongside Carmen Linares. At Christmas 1994, she sang at Madrid's Teatro Monumental in a concert recorded by Radio Clásica for the Euro-Radio '94 special: "Christmas in Europe" alongside Carmen Linares and Manuel Morao.
Her first album, with lyrics by Moreno Galván, like all her subsequent albums and featuring a profound social content, was awarded the National Record Prize from the Chair of Flamencology and Andalusian Folklore Studies in Jerez de la Frontera. Two years later, she won the Tomás El Nitri Honorary Award at the National Flamenco Art Competition in Córdoba. Since then, she has emerged as one of the most outstanding figures in Andalusian festivals.
In 1996, a book was published with great success, including her "Jonda Biography" by Génesis García.
In 1997, José Menese received two of today's most important flamenco awards: the "Calle de Alcalá Flamenco Award" from the Caja de Madrid Flamenco Festival and the "Patriarch of Cante" award from the Murcia Flamenco Summit.
In September 1997, he presented his latest CD, "A mi madre Remedios," at the Cuartel del Conde Duque, as part of the Veranos de la Villa program organized by the Madrid City Council. He was accompanied on guitar by Enrique de Melchor and guest artists Chano Lobato and Juan Carmona "Habichuela."
In October 1997, he was part of the cast of Manuel de Falla's "La Vida Breve," which opened at the Teatro Real in Madrid under the direction of Maestro García Navarro. That same month, he performed in the flamenco series of the Madrid Autumn Festival.
Menese is one of the greatest non-Roma singers, with a deep and genuine passion for flamenco, a full, resounding voice laden with deep echoes, and an increasingly polished and sensitive craft. He has been praised by intellectuals, writers, poets, and flamencologists such as Rafael Alberti, Fernando Quiñones, Blas de Otero, Ramón Chao, Félix Grande, Antonio Gala, and others.
