The Danish ensemble Flamenco Passion meets three soloists of international class, namely master guitarist Mikkel Nordsø, violinist Bjarke Falgren, and harmonica player Mathias Heise on the new album A Tribute to Paco de Lucia. The group Flamenco Passion are among the very best flamenco fusion groups in Scandinavia, led by guitarist Poul Jacek Knudsen alongside bassist Nicolai Land and percussionist Anders Pedersen.

The album is a tribute to the late flamenco guitar icon Paco de Lucia, who has inspired countless flamenco artists and great jazz musicians such as Chick Corea and George Benson. The repertoire presented is original Flamenco Passion themes, one composition by Paco de Lucia plus two tracks composed by Mikkel Nordsø. The album is a journey through moods and emotions, and the passion comes alive in the complex compositions with the recurrent themes and well performed improvisations.

Poul Jacek Knudsen has performed in many flamenco constellations, both as a soloist and accompanist to song and dance, and with different Spanish artists, such as Lucia Alvarez "La Piñona" (dance), Lakshmi Basile "La Chimi" (dance), one of his guitar maestros Antonio Jero and singer Juan Murube, who participates on the current album with palmas (handclaps) and jaleos (calls of cheer and encouragement). Mikkel Nordsø is a Danish guitar legend. In addition to playing in his own band Mikkel Nordsø Band, he has also played, performed and/or recorded with notabilities such as Palle Mikkelborg, Terri Lyne Carrington, George Duke, David Sanborn, Lisa Nilsson and many others. Violinist Bjarke Falgren is a musical mastermind on the violin. He is a fourfold Grammy Award winner and one of Denmark’s best and most recognized violin virtuosos. Falgren has released 11 albums, worked on TV and theatre projects, and worked with the likes of Mads Mathias, Mathias Heise, Jacob Fischer and many others. Mathias Heise is one of the world’s leading harmonica players, having won the Chromatic Harmonica World Championship in 2013. He is also the recipient of The Danish Crown Prince Couple’s prestigious Stardust Award and the Ben Webster prize, as the youngest recipient ever and has recently performed with harmonica player Antonio Serrano, who actually played in the latest group of Paco de Lucia. Immerse yourself in the rich history of flamenco, unfolding with each strum of the guitar from some of the very best in the business!

CONTENTS:

• Poul Jacek Knudsen: Candela
• Poul Jacek Knudsen: Navegando en el aire #2
• Mikkel Nordsø: Gambas al ajillo
• Lucia, P de: Palenque
• Poul Jacek Knudsen: Camelia
• Mikkel Nordsø: Sale el sol

Rafael Aguirre is acknowledged as one of today’s most celebrated virtuoso guitarists, having won first prize at 13 of the world’s most prestigious international competitions: a record-breaking achievement for a Spanish musician. Following on from his previous, acclaimed recording (8.572064), this full-blooded recital is of music by Spanish composers or those influenced by Iberia, from the pure flamenco of Paco de Lucía’s Guajiras to Debussy’s impressionistic Soirée dans Grenade, and from Albéniz’s Triana, named after the gypsy quarter in Seville, to the virtuoso fireworks of Tárrega’s Gran Jota.

Born in the Cuban capital of Havana, Alí Arango has won numerous awards including the prestigious Alhambra International Guitar Competition in 2014. Arango’s programme follows a tradition of eminent Spanish and Latin American performers who are also distinguished composers, musicians who live and breathe the idiom and style of their national instrument. These include Arango’s teachers and fellow Cubans Joaquín Clerch and Leo Brouwer, the latter acclaimed as one of today’s most innovative composers. This selection ranges from the spectacular Guajiras de Lucía by Paco de Lucía to Arango’s own lullaby to his daughter Lúa.