Odisea

The third album from the German flamenco guitarist Andreas Arnold sees him returning to the classical and jazz improvisation that characterised his first compositions a decade back. Odysseys are homecomings and on Odisea we catch a mature artist looking over a body of work, at ease in his own loosely wrought, multi-faceted musical milieu.

The oddly titled opening track ‘Cai-BK’ is a gentle, meditative number with a soft, slow bluesy feel. The second, ‘Alas al Alma’, features flamenco cantaora Rocío Parrilla from the acclaimed Jerez-based family. She provides a soaring lament that wraps itself around Arnold's deft picking. The next song, ‘Paris, Ciel Gris’, takes us to the French city, with Arnold joined by Greek double bassist Petros Klampanis and percussionist Miguel Hiroshi (born in Japan but raised in Granada, Spain), as well as Parisian trumpeter David Enhco. A tricksy 9/4 time suits the pensive, poetic mood.

The album flits easily between Spain, North Africa, Greece and the US, recruiting accompanists from outside the flamenco scene, and inviting Spanish legends, including Juan Carmona (from the family behind fusion pioneers Ketama), to try their hand at daring variations. What Arnold seeks in flamenco is its versatility. Thus, on ‘Bike Messenger’, he nimbly homages urban delivery riders in NYC (Arnold divides his time between Brooklyn and Cádiz). Flamenco, he makes clear, can do chaos and clamour as well as agony and heartstrings.