Diego Amador & Jose Maria Bandera: Paqueando (2024)

Everyone who knows the wonderful Leonardo Pavkovic understands that not only has he introduced the world to some amazing fusion artists , but he has been on a mission to highlight music we would not otherwise have come across which is why for years he has been releasing works from Indonesia. He left New York a few years ago and has now settled in Toledo, Spain, and this album is the first release on a new Moonjune sublabel, Toque Records. ‘Paqueando’ is a celebration of the life of famous Flamenco guitarist Paco De Lucia, who died in 2014. His nephew, José María Bandera, was taught how to play guitar by both Paco and Paco’s father, and here he has combined with multi-instrumentalist and singer Diego Amador to perform 9 Paco originals, while Diego plays and sings opener “Glorai Al Maestro” (which translates to “Glory To The Master”).

Flamenco is not an art form which I have heard a great deal of, apart from the wonderful albums from the mighty Carmen which fused Flamenco with rock, so I was intrigued to hear this release, especially as Diego mostly restrains from much additional instrumentation and instead complements José by playing piano in Flamenco fashion whereas my expectation has always been that it is a battle between two guitars, plus plenty of clapping and foot stamping. It was only on reading the CD booklet that I realised this had been recorded independently by the two artists as if you had told me it was recorded in a concert hall with the audience cut out, I would have believed you. There must have been a lot of scoring undertaken on the arrangements as there are fill, duets and runs between the piano and guitar which honestly feels as if it could only happen if they were staring into each other’s eyes to get the timing correct. There is a raw passion here as the two attempt to capture the beauty of the runs along with the abstract chords and jazz influences which made many view Paco as the most important guitarist to ever come from Spain. There is an intensity within this, a concentration, as both musicians attempt to capture the vitality and virtuosity of a true master, and while I do not know the originals the end result is something which is incredibly compelling and fascinating. I challenge anyone to listen to the ending of “Monasterio de Sal” and not think, “Wow!”.

Compelling and fascinating, I am sure we are seeing here the birth of a new label which will broaden our musical horizons, this release certainly did.

Rating: 8/10