Pepe Carroll
Intelligence. That’s the first thing you notice when you see, hear, or read José Carroll. An abstract kind of intelligence, sharp and penetrating. (The guy’s so brainy!)
Hard work. That’s the first thing that draws your attention when you see, hear, or read José Carroll. Intense, versatile, and constantly working. (The kid has his nose to the grindstone!)
His hands. They are the first thing you notice when you see José Carroll perform. Long hands, elegant hands, such skillful hands! (Hey, look at them hands!)
What kind of magic would you expect from someone who has talent and nurtures it, keeps working hard, and takes care of his material tools - his own hands?
Exactly. You’ve guessed it, dear reader…
A kind of Magic that is thoroughly rehearsed, constructed intelligently, and magnificently performed. Who could offer more?
But, you see… There’s more to it.
José Carroll has been a professional close-up magician for seven years. He has spent seven years performing almost every day for audiences that like good magic, and know it when they see it: from his performances in El Llantiol (that magic café in Barcelona to which Spanish magic owes so much) to his lectures in the Netherlands, Argentina, and Hollywood’s Magic Castle.
And this mixture of working daily as a professional magician for lay audiences and being in constant contact with other magicians makes his magic both thrilling (there’s mystery, lyricism, elegant humor, very powerful magic effects) and subtle (refined and of a very high quality in technical terms).
What’s more, José Carroll has been touched by the grace of Fortune and Saint Robert-Houdin, and thus matured in the magical atmosphere of Madrid in the ’80s. Nothing less! He is a member of the Madrid Magic School and an avid reader of the Puchol library’s books1 (Praised he be again!) The theoretical and practical milieu of the SEI has helped him to grow tall and healthy, magically speaking (and a little chubby too, although his relations with the scores of female fans force him to take large doses of vitamins).
In my opinion, the theoretical chapter (the ideas stem from his practical experience, they’re not just mere theory) titled CONFLICTS is extremely interesting and provocative, making you think and reflect on it, and of course, it is brilliantly sharp. If you skip it, you’ll know just the half of the real value of this book.
The carefully described routines range from good to excellent (“The Suit Appearance” rates first, closely followed by “Reds and Blacks” and “The Unwary Cheater”—they are three masterpieces. As many as three!) Then, there is also a whole series of effects, ideas, verbal presentations, routines, technical details, and high quality commercial effects (“Through the Looking-Glass”, “Card Pages”, “The Crystal Wall”, “Impossible Color Changes”, and so on).
In a nutshell, this book is the result of serious study, intelligent reflection, and continuous performing for magicians and laymen alike.
My dear reader, let me give you a heartfelt piece of advice: read this book, study the routines, do the tricks, enjoy them, amaze your magician and non-magician friends, and then, as if it had just occurred to you, mention to your circle of magician friends that you discovered someone who will certainly be a magician known worldwide in less than two years. Soon, everyone will be complimenting you on your infinite shrewdness, unless they have heard or read Dai Vernon, who was the first one to make this prediction (a cheeky prediction it is, as it has already come true).
Juan Tamariz