Juan Carmona flamenco quartet performs music from gorgeous new album at Kay Meek Arts Centre
Zyriab 6.7. is the flamenco-guitar master’s most ambitious release yet
Juan Carmona.
The French maestro of the flamenco guitar Juan Carmona is widely regarded as one of the most creative musicians of the new flamenco generation. Driven by a profound awareness of traditional styles, Carmona offers music that also rewards with a remarkable modernity and emotional acuity.
Born in Lyon, France, Carmona was a noted guitar prodigy before he moved to Spain to soak up the music of his Andalusian ancestry. The young student studied for nine years with the greatest Spanish masters of the guitar, winning the ultimate laureate: First prize in Madrid’s Paco de Lucia Competition.
Four of Carmona’s 11 albums have earned nominations for Flamenco Album of the Year by the Latin Grammy Awards. Now, he has released his most beautiful and ambitious album yet, Zyriab 6.7.
A tribute to the ninth-century musician-poet Zyriab, the main figure in the history of Arab-Andalusian music, the album retraces Zyriab’s Mediterranean journey from Iraq to Spain. At each stop along the way, Carmona invites numerous artists to join him in recorded performances. The resulting music is globally diverse, as singers, instrumental soloists and ensembles unite traditional folk music of their region with Carmona’s exquisite guitar playing.
Carmona’s peerless quartet—Sergio Di Finizio on bass, Domingo Patricio on flutes and keyboard, and Isidro Suarez on an array of percussion instruments—performs music from the album as well as superb earlier releases, at Kay Meek Arts Centre (1700 Mathers Ave, West Vancouver) on Sunday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $50/$47/$29.
For more information, see Kay Meek Arts Centre.
Post sponsored by BlueShore at CapU.