Fandango, Duende y Taraf

• Share
  • Email
  • Del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Newsvine
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google
  • Yahoo
  • Facebook
• Print
• Write to the editor
• Feeds
  • PopMatters
  • Listen

Amazon

This group of five musicians takes its inspiration from three kinds of music: Spanish (that’s the fandango part), Mexican (duende), and Moroccan (taraf). The album title translates to “The Three Shores of the Atlantic”, and that means a lot; the eight songs here show that a lot of the world’s music can be blended together with beauty and sublimity. “El Puente” builds slowly, riding ambient ocean sounds until it bursts into a low-key South American groove with groovy guitars and West Indian percussion… except that it all sounds like it’s going to break into “La Bamba”. Another track, “La Palmeca”, takes Angel Chacón’s flamenco guitar and mixes it up with Juan Pérez Grobet’s rubbery jazz bass (Jaco Pastorius, we’re talking about you), before an amazing percussion solo breaks out. Abdelmjid Moutana’s oud work is subtle and amazing, and it’s all overseen by keyboardist/director Gerardo Bátiz. Lovely, if maybe too short at 37 minutes.

RATING: