Homenaje a Sabicas

My day brightened significantly upon hearing Grisha play Sabicas. It's so obvious that Sabicas is a personal favourite of Grisha and how awesome that we are treated to a whole album of his music?! The guajiras in particular sent me in to fits of elation! There are very few musicians that can do this to me. Glenn Gould is one of them, Paco de Lucia another, Gerardo Nunez, Bireli Lagrene, Coltrane, Charlie Parker etc... These are all masters with incredible facility and with staunchly independent visions and deep understanding for the music which they play, be it their own or composed by others. And nevermind that Grisha has not sole ownership of this music. It really has become a part of him, having helped mould his passions for flamenco and for music in general. You see, Grisha, and the sounds he is making, represent a man at the young heights of his powers of artistic expression and that is something to behold and to celebrate. We must hope there is more to come, because this is a musician with no boundary to his ability that we've yet seen.

Speaking about the recording itself... It is an almost perfect choice of sound for the songs of Sabicas. The guitar is luminous and dry enough, not dramatically watered with reverb, but with a natural ambience which suits the earthiness of Sabicas' compositions.

Ole!

From the beautiful cover to the exquisite playing, this album is a must have for all music lovers. Overall, there's a robust old-school feel, fitting for Sabicas, and at the same time there's a sense of a re-discovery of this timeless flamenco master. The performance is world-class, capturing both virtuosity and sensitivity throughout the program. The sound of the recording is equally impressive--a beautiful guitar sound that is extremely present and musically engaging.