MDG Scene  910 1536-6

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Crossover

Joaquin Clerch (guitar)
Pancho Amat (tres)
Anette Maiburg (flute)
Alexander Raymat (percussion)
Omar Rodriguez Calvo (kontrabass)


Salsa
This is a declaration of love for Cuba, a homage to the tres as the archetypal Cuban national instrument, and it is a memorial to Maria Eugenia, a beloved wife who died far too early: Pancho Amat, together with the Cuban guitarist Joaquín Clerch, presents the music of his Caribbean homeland. As "Cubana Classica" these two world-famous musicians have recorded an (SA)CD with friends, bringing the rhythms and feel of Cuba to Europe in a most impressive way.

Son
The tres is like a small guitar, with three pairs of strings. Initially, the instrument was widely used on the sugar plantations, before becoming very popular in Cuba's villages and cities. Now it is an integral part of Cuban folk music. The "son Cubano", the traditional style of music, is central to the culture, though this recording also includes the Rumba, Chachacha and Mambo.

Rumba
Pancho Amat is the world's leading tres player. He can conjure up an inimitably transparent sound from the instrument, while having a sensitive ear for degrees of dynamics. The tres, a childhood gift from his father, became his friend; through it, he got to know his homeland and his compatriots, it led him to the love of his life, and to his musical counterpart on guitar, Joaquín Clerch.

Habanera
On some pieces, the ensemble is expanded to a quintet, with Anette Maiburg contributing a soft, sensitive and unbelievably supple flute timbre, the classical European antithesis to Omar Rodriguez Calvo (what double bass solos he produces!) and Alexander Raymat on percussion. An entertaining and refreshing programme in excellent recording quality and seasoned with a hint of "Havana".