Paqueando

Diego Amador is one of a rare breed: a flamenco pianist. Rarer still he is also a cantaor (singer). Highlighting comparisons of piano and guitar, this album is his tribute to flamenco guitar maestro Paco de Lucía on the tenth anniversary of his death. Accompanying him, appropriately, is José Maria Bandera, the guitar-playing nephew of Paco de Lucía himself. In addition to one original, they interpret a wide range of the maestro's originals, including the orchestra-backed ‘Canción de Amor’ and ‘Chiquito’ from the three-guitar hero album (Passion, Grace & Fire) with John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola. In place of the variety of instrumentation and arrangements on the originals, the duo here mostly use extended improvisations, with some leanings into jazzier or more avant-garde colourings, particularly from Amador. This results in some over-long tracks on what is otherwise a good album of well-balanced interplay between the two instruments.