OCTOBER 15, 2009
Flamenco Guitarist Niño Josele debuts new album Española at New York's Village Vanguard
Spanish virtuoso to appear in 6-night run Tuesday October 20th to Sunday Oct 25th
You may have heard flamenco guitarist and songwriter Niño Josele performing on Esperanza Spalding's latest release. Or backing Lenny Kravitz, Alicia Keys and Paco de Lucía. And he's worth a serious listen on his own.
Josele will be appearing with his trio at New York City's Village Vanguard from Tuesday Oct. 20th through Sunday Oct. 25th, performing two sets each night at 9:00pm & 11:00pm. The young guitarist will be joined by two Grammy-winning Latin jazz musicians: Puerto Rico's John Benitez (bass) and Cuba's Horatio "El Negro" Hérnandez (drums) .
In his Village Vanguard run -- his only U.S. appearances this year -- Josele will be debuting music from his upcoming album Española which is set for release November 3rd on Warner Music Spain. The CD's title track is a McCoy Tyner composition, with the other tracks on the album all Josele originals. Included are two special tracks, the elegant "Waltz for Bill," inspired by one of Josele's musical heroes, jazz guitarist Bill Evans, and the sizzling "Zapateado para Bebo," a tribute to Cuban piano master Bebo Valdés.
Bridging the worlds of flamenco and American jazz improvisation has fascinated Josele for many years. The brilliant Spanish guitarist, who has also performed with Latin music legends including Paco de Lucía, Diego "El Cigala" and Bebo Valdés, is unusually candid about the challenges he faces in shaping jazz improvisation to the unique contours of flamenco guitar. " You have to play in jazz clubs, improvise with people who know how to and play every day, make mistakes -- it's the only way," he noted recently in an interview with flamenco-world.com. "It can take you years to learn how to improvise the way it's done in jazz. It's another way of seeing music. And when you discover how to improvise, you can't give it up."
Josele's prior releases include a tribute CD to Bill Evans entitled Paz (2006) and El Sorbo (2002), a collaboration with Spanish producer and songwriter Javier Limón.
For more information, including ticketing and showtimes, contact The Village Vanguard.