Enrique Morente ~ Sueña la Alhambra ~ CD

This new album in many ways defines Morente's entire artistic aesthetic. The pieces on it range from the most traditional to the cutting edge of his genre, drawing significantly on popular folk traditions, and tipping his hat along the way to several major Spanish literary figures. The genius of it all is that the result is not a patchwork hodgepodge of pieces, but rather a seamless continuum of varied but consistent expressions of one creative vision. Like a strand of natural turquoise or coral stones, each unique but all beautifully matched as part of the whole bracelet. Collaborators include Tomatito, Juan Habichuela, Estrella Morente, Israel Galvan, Pat Metheny, Ute Lemper, Blanca Li, and Cheb Khaled.