REVIEW: MIGUEL SANCHEZ - THALISMA

 

MIGUEL SANCHEZ - THALISMA (Carbon 7 Records, 2001)

Produced by Guy Segers and Alan Ward

Recorded at Studio Bonzai and Studio De Studio

Layout by Els Van Hemelryck

Tracks: 1- Esperanza, 2- Contigo Soñar, 3- Mi Rollo, 4- Lere, 5- Fuente de Colores, 6- Punta Paloma, 7- jam De Studio, 8- Siete Cuatro, 9- this, 10- the Heritage (Buleria)

A beautiful release. Miguel Sanchez, "el Canijo" has the gift of knowing how to mix perfectly flamenco, jazz and even some new age music. And that is perfectly demonstrated on this release where he makes a great combination of his influences. There are also some eastern sounding melodies (this feeling is enhanced because of the use of exotic instruments in this context). I like the way Sanchez plays his guitar letting it breath with arpéggios and making some interesting melodies. Also there is a great work on vocals that are closer to flamenco than to the other styles mentioned above. There are plenty of phrases done by the instruments here doing some scales (a lot of phrygian modes and harmonic minor sounds). Also there are a lot of guest musicians who help to make this album a great one. Favorite Tracks: "Fuente de Colores", "Punta Paloma" and "Siete Cuatro". Contact: www.carbon7.com