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Promotional photos for musicians Ariel Abramovich y John Potter
August 5th, 2009
This week I was called by Ariel Abramovich, a Renaissance musician and an expert in playing the lute – a string instrument dating back to the Middle Ages. He needed a promotional photo shoot for his duet with an English tenor. Well, we meet in a square in Seville to discuss how these photos would be.
On the phone I imagined Ariel as an old man, with gray hair and glasses. It was a surprise when a guy who looked like a rock guitarist and was very talkative arrived. After a couple of rounds, he showed me the second album by El Cortesano , a duo that has with the singer José Hernández-Pastor. Nice cover design and photographs taken by German designer Markus Wessollek.
He spoke of John Potter , who would be his concert partner in the same week in the Gardens of the Real Alcázar in Seville and that would be the another protagonist of the photo shoot.
He told me about his importance on the music scene and that he was a friend of John Paul Jones, bassist of the now legendary Led Zeppelin. I was surprised.
The other day, in the rush that Johh would return to England as soon as he did the concert, we went out to photograph. I met John, a kind and calm gentleman. In three languages - Ariel sometimes spoke some Portuguese with me – we went outside the Real Alcázar of Seville.
It was very gratifying and a great honor to photograph them and hear John talk about stars like Tony Levin (bassist for the King Crimson), Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), & nbsp; Tony Banks (Genesis) and other big names in progressive rock.
The curriculum of the two is vast. Ariel performed in the Americas, North Africa, and Europe, recorded with Brazilian musicians, and performed as a teacher in Brazil, Equador, Argentina, and the Czech Republic.
John Potter, in turn, is a singer, artistic consultant, writer and academic at the University of York. He started his career in the 70s and recorded alongside names like The Who, Manfred Mann. He wrote “Vocal Authority” (Cambridge University Press) in 1998 and “Tenor: History of a Voice” (Yale University Press).
It was certainly a wonderful afternoon, with my two passions together, photography and music.
