Flamenco-world.com, May 2006

There are already those who say ‘Paz’ is “the most profound example of the penetration of flamenco into jazz”. In this third recording project, Niño Josele has translated a selection from pianist Bill Evans's repertoire into the language of contemporary flamenco guitar. The guitarist from Almería is joined by Fernando Trueba and Javier Limón as producers, Marc Johnson on double bass, Horacio el Negro on drums, Joe Lovano on sax, Jerry González on trumpet and the vocals of Estrella Morente, among others. ‘Peace piece’, ‘Waltz for Debby’, ‘My foolish heart’ and ‘When I fall in love’ are just some of the eleven tracks that make up the album, which goes on sale on 25th May.

Niño Josele was introduced to Bill Evans's music by film director Fernando Trueba. “What's that beautiful music?” The question sparked such a curiosity in the guitarist from Almería that he ended up immersing himself in the legendary jazz pianist's discography. And it was from this immersion that the album ‘Paz’ emerged - the third of his career following ‘Calle ancha’ (1995) and ‘Niño Josele’ (2003).

There are eleven songs on the track list. Among the most outstanding are ‘Peace piece’, ‘Waltz for Debby’, ‘My foolish heart’ and ‘When I fall in love’. To reinterpret them, the tocaor has chosen to work with musicians from Evans's circle such as bassist Marc Johnson, a member of his final trio, and trumpeter Tom Harrell, who played at the last concerts before his death in 1980. There are also other musicians of international prestige involved in the project, such as percussionist Horacio el Negro, saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Jerry González, as well as cantaora Estrella Morente on ‘Minha’.

Niño Josele combines live performances of this repertoire with the accompaniment of flamenco artists like Enrique Morente, Paco de Lucía and Diego el Cigala. He already launched part of ‘Paz’ at the 2005 Festival de Jazz de Madrid.

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