COMPOSERS: Diego Amador
LABELS: World Village
ALBUM TITLE: Diego Amador
PERFORMER: Diego Amador (piano, guitar, mandola, etc) et al
CATALOGUE NO: 468071
Diego Amador is another Spanish Roma musician, whose older brothers once formed the core of seminal flamenco fusion group Pata Negra. His second solo album, Piano Jondo, recorded in 2002 and newly re-released, is a more purely flamenco affair.
Though he sings, and plays guitar and mandola, his dazzling, self-taught piano is the lead instrument. The epic and restlessly experimental ‘Vivan Los Gitanos’ quotes Juan Tizol’s jazz standard ‘Caravan’, and finds Amador worrying the strings behind the keys.
He sings only once, and is joined by bass, percussion, palmas (hand claps) and zapateo (tap dance). An impressive all-rounder, deserving wider acclaim.