He was born on his saint's day in 1960 and left us suddenly on Saturday, November 9, when he was 64, that precious silver age to which he sang McCartney.
He fell in love with the guitar ever since his father played him the first chords when he was a very young child, and he dedicated himself to it body and soul and, being Andalusian, he chose the most exquisite of all, the flamenco.
He grew up listening to the greats, Montoya a You know, from Paco to Manolo and never turned his nose up at other adjacent genres, he knew how to drink the holy water of all the music that disturbed him and absorb for his art the thousand and one aesthetic resources that they provide. Aware of the enrichment that comes from approaching jazz, classical music, music from all over the world. Beyond confusions, he chose to be a complete guitarist and achieved this by soaking up the music of his time, although always from the perspective of flamenco.
Few know that Pepe Justice He was part of the select group of guitarists who met in the eighties in a small place on the corner of Olivar and Olmo streets, in the more than traditional Madrid neighborhood of Lavapiés, the legendary Candle de Miguel Aguilera, of which he was a part among many others Gerardo NunezThey say that in those early years of the legendary venue, a temple of Madrid's flamenco scene, guitar cases were piled up on the long bar that occupied the left wing as you entered.
From a very early age he made an effort to learn to read and write music, which opened up his possibilities to tackle other genres, aware that knowledge does not take away passion, thus being able to rub shoulders with the work of Fernando Sor, Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, Dionisio Aguado, with what this implies for the creative and interpretive work of a guitarist.
«He worked with greats such as Chocolate, Manolo Sanlúcar, Gerardo Núñez, Rancapino, Turronero, Enrique Morente, El Capullo de Jerez, Chano Lobato, Felipe Campuzano and Joaquín Grilo, and among his many concerts around the world we highlight the one he performed with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, with the interpretation of the Aranjuez Concerto»
I met Pepe in Freiburg in the nineties at a conference flamenco with a very young man Amir, who already then showed masterful ways. He had a vocation for concert performance, although he also accompanied the cante and dancing, a compulsory high school diploma for every guitarist flamenco who claims to be one. But Pepe was drawn to the solo guitar and has left us a not inconsiderable discography that begins in 1987 with Xaueny, and which continued with Blue (1992) Dunas (1995) Poetry for six strings (2001), inspired by the work of his admired Jose Luis Balao, Just water (2002) And time (2003) Thirteen nights (2006) Plucking daisies (2016) and, together with Susana Trujillo, Now (2021). The tribute will be a full stop flamenco that Pepe Justicia gave to great Johann Sebastian Bach with Goldberg in flamenco (2016), deep versions of fifteen of the ineffable Goldberg variations by the master from Eisenach.
Pepe has held the position of flamenco guitarist at the Pepa Flores Conservatory of Dance in Malaga since 2016 and other awards include two national Flamenco Guitar awards from the Jerez native. peña The Kestrels, in 1987 and 1999.
He worked with greats like Chocolate, Manolo Sanlúcar, Gerardo Núñez, Rancapino, Turronero, Enrique Morente, The Capullo of Jerez, Chano Lobato, Felipe Campuzano o Joaquin Grilo, and among his many concerts around the world we highlight the one he performed with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, with the performance of the Aranjuez Concerto.
Rest in peace, Pepe Justicia, maestro, friend. You are now with all those you admired so much. You can now enjoy peace next to the great masters who, like you, dedicated their entire lives to their passion, the guitar and the flamenco.
