SPAIN
Our perceptions of everything are a dualism. From the tip of the iceberg boom voices that, either for political or financial motives seek to trap the citizen comfortably inside the limitations of her/his attention span. The never, ever GST…now swallow.. children overboard….never mind the gristle…weapons of mass destruction…are you ready to vomit the lies? Even when all is shown to be false, a strange blind spot in human nature seems to make us accept the shit shower after the chain is pulled. It ain’t manna from heaven but……who cares? Our perceptions of music are the same. There are marketing terms interminably recycled with the sole intention of persuading you to part with your cash, then there’s the truth. Take the term “Nuevo Flamenco” for example. Follow the mantras of the industry propaganda machine and you’re likely to end up with pristinely recorded, emotionally sterile guitar tinkling suitable for the elevator shaft. Follow your own nose, though and you’re more likely to be confronted with a multitude of Spanish musical styles that fuse elements of jazz, blues, classical, West African, flamenco, rock and Latin American to form a powerful melange of breathtaking creativity and virtuosity. In its own way “musica gitana” or “flamenco nuevo” (not the marketing term) is every bit as cannibalistic as son cubano, blues, jazz, samba or any of the plethora of African styles. A superb overview of the music can heard on some of the releases forthwith...reviewed by Richard Jasiutowicz

Jorge Pardo - Coleccion
Jorge Pardo is possibly the best arranger in the flamenco nuevo movement as well as being a superlative saxophonist and flautist. He has an instantly identifiable soaring sound and the range of music on the second Coleccion reviewed is quite flabbergasting…funk, jazz, Brazilian, flamenco, latino…from soulful introspection to wild jazzy workouts. It’s a beguiling combination of accessibility, sophistication, earthiness and challenging sounds, with Jorge’s jazz credentials well exhibited on Bird’s bebop classic Donna Lee and squalling sax improvisations over flamenco beats on Duke Ellington’s Caravan.