Diego "El Cigala"

Diego El Cigala is one of the of the foremost current artists in flamenco music in Spain. Essentially it is the full spectrum of flamenco but with a mix of tradition and contemporary flavors. Take for example the buleria "Gitanos de la cava" where the jazz trumpet and bass lines create a nuevo flamenco sound that mixes perfectly with "El Cigalas" mournful vocals. The beautiful and lively guajira "Senor del aire" features Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes playing a prominent part of the song on the ivory keys for a great song dedicated to Juan Valderrama.

That's pianist Bebo Valdes, one of Cuba's great jam session players of the 1950s (and still a potent force on the music scene) and flamenco vocalist Diego "El Cigala," whose half-croaked, Arabic-tinged inflections offer a fine counterpoint to Valdes's trademark sleek, supple piano runs. Cigala sounds like he, too, must be an ancient old-timer, un viejo, like all those Buena Vista dudes... But in fact he is a youngster, a ponytailed whippersnapper who just happens to channel weight of the the ages... Quite a lot of gravitas, subtlety and artistic firepower is assembled here; just to spice things up, they bring in some highpowered guests, such as jazzman Paquito D'Rivera, Milton Cardona and Brazilian superstar Caetano Veloso, who duets with El Cigala on a version of "Coracao Vagabundo," which closes the album. Also included are classic compositions by Miguel Matamoros, Maria Teresa Vera and other Latin American and Iberian legends. Mighty classy material.

	Legendary Paco de Lucia A Spanish composer and guitarist, a leading proponent of the Modern Flamenco Style.		Tomatito and Potito Taranta Discovered by Flamenco maestro Paco de Lucía and then began working with legendary Flamenco..
	Carlos Saura Documentary This audio-visual gem contains performances by the greatest flamenco artists in recent memory....		Cancanilla and Chaparro A good example of how tradition lives besides modernity...
	Delola Flamenco This Marbella band of 'New Famenco', shows how the traditional style is evolving..		El Cigala - Lágrimas negras Selected as Best Record of 2007 by The New York Times.