Expertise

I know a lot about jazz. I know hundreds of songs, scores of major musicians and a dozen significant subgenres from stride to the young lions. I know that nobody got more out of a song lyric than Sinatra, but that the meaning of Billie Holiday's singing is in the voice itself, not the lyric. I could tell you the difference between Roy Haynes and Billy Higgins, or between Elvin and Tony. I have taught a class on jazz where I held my own.

When I turn to flamenco I fjnd I know very little. I have guitarists and cantaores that I like, of course, but I cannot identify one palo (subgenre) from the next, or explain the evolution of the music except in the most superficial way. I could not explain why one guitarist is different from another. I've taught flamenco in a very limited way, with guest speakers or audio selections, but I don't have enough expertise to teach an entire class on it.