FlamenGrass
“Flamen Grass” is a collaboration of four great Spanish musicians from the Barcelona area. Headed up by banjo player Lluis Gomez, he is accompanied by Javier Vaquero on guitar, Carol Duran on violin and vocals, and Maribel Rivero on double bass and vocals. Combining a mix of bluegrass and flamenco traditions, the group presents a project of both traditional Spanish tunes along with original compositions from both Duran and Gomez.
Gomez puts the banjo in the lead role in creating some wonderful Flamenco-based selections, while Duran and Rivero put the beauty in the vocal songs and ballads, augmenting the banjo with the violin. Gomez’s originals include “La Flor (The Flowers),” and “Grant por Bulerias.” Duran’s contributions are the title “Alegria (happiness),” “Station to your Heart,” and “Quan s’atura el temp (when it stops at the tempo).” Duran and Gomez give the cute “RhumbaGrass,” and they all get together creating “Imalges.”
Traditional tunes include “Net Pozu (No Pose),” “Abenamar,” and “Zorongo Gitano” (Gypsy, Gypsy).” While the CD package is mostly in Spanish, this is a wonderfully produced project that takes the sound and feel of Spanish Flamenco music and give it a new sound.
