Innamorarae: Summer Flamenco

Track Listings

1. Verano de Alegri [Summer of Joy]

2. Nightflower [Red Moon Over Santa Fe]

3. Ballad 4 Santana

4. Alameda

5. Bella [Saturday Morning in Forte Dei Marmi]

6. Spanish Steps [Rome in May]

7. 2 the Night [XL Version]

8. Borboletta (Wings of Moonlight)

9. Aquarhythms [Following the Clouds]

10. Summer Love Song [Earth Feels Like Heaven]

11. Funky Poet [June Bug]

12. Ode 2 Love

13. Desert Elysium

14. Farewell 2 Summer

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
As the title notes, Innamorare is indeed languid summer stock--blowzy like a breeze in the warmth of the sun, and, to the delight of his detractors, relatively light and lazy fare. While the album is not the fiery brand of traditional flamenco, Ottmar Liebert here marries his fusion of New Age jazz with ethnic rhythmic structures, making seductively sensual music that captures the spirit of romance rather than the white-hot technical virtuosity of his peers. Hunky Liebert makes what can be described as mood music for restaurants, bathtubs, and bedrooms and may well be the New Age woman's equivalent of the bodice-ripper crowd's Fabio. Fans of Liebert will relish the piquant elegance of "Ballad 4 Santana," bask in the warmth of "Desert Elysium," and luxuriate in the bittersweet strains of "Farewell 2 Summer." --Paige La Grone

From Jazziz
No matter what axe or style they choose as their bread and butter, most of today's popular instrumentalists have felt the influence of Miles Davis. Ottmar Liebert's platinum-selling 1990 breakthrough Nouveau Flamenco established him as an icon pursuing a brand-new path of his own creation - one where flamenco tradition meets pop sensibilities and New Age tenderness. Somehow, that road began with Miles. The classically trained guitarist recalls how the trumpet legend's In a Silent Way changed his musical life at age 15. "I was just learning how to improvise on steel-string when I heard Miles for the first time, and my first instinct was to drop the guitar and pick up the horn," says the German-born Liebert. "I was knocked out by how a single note or line could set up the whole mood of a song, and how he phrased passages using breath modulations. The silences between notes were just as important as the notes themselves, and his horn would play over the charted musical bar. I stuck with the guitar, but vowed to create a style that would be more human than mechanical, that would allow me to 'breathe' rather than simply play a barrage of notes." A move from the East Coast, where he had pursued a rock career, to Santa Fe, New Mexico around 1990 helped ease that transition. Strolling patiently around his irresistible melodic hooks, Liebert has since become one of the most acclaimed and best-selling contemporary instrumentalists. Nouveau Flamenco announced not only an artist but a virtual genre. Still, Liebert is quick to admit that while traditional flamenco music intrigued him early on, he has simply used its rhythms and history as a basis for his own, more accessible pop sound. "If people begin to explore true flamenco as a result of enjoying my music, great," he says. "But there's no need for purists to get hung up on titles and categories. What I do is a fusion of elements that tap outside the traditions, taking from flamenco what I enjoy and mixing it up in a way that makes sense to me. As a European living in America who grew up on jazz and rock-and-roll, I haven't lived the life of a gypsy. On the new album, in fact, there's just as much mariachi, Caribbean rhythms, and blues." After recent excursions into classical and dance music, Liebert has returned to the simpler joys of his early '90s works with his new Innamorare/Summer Flamenco (Epic). But there are a few new exciting twists this time: a vibrant horn section and more of a focus on Carl "Cozmo" Coletti's trap-set rhythms, most notably. With their loping, gently swaying melodies punctuated by aggressive, percussive hooks, tunes like "Verano de Alegria," "Spanish Steps," and "2 the Night" are spirited, Caribbean-flavored reminders of Liebert's first radio hit, "Barcelona Nights" - only this time with bursting brass harmony lines, extra kick (including drum and percussion duets), and subtle blues-organ underpinnings. Liebert has always balanced his exuberance with touches of melancholy, but here, even reflective moments give way to optimistic glimmers. On tunes like the tribute "Ballad 4 Santana," Liebert weaves his guitar gently around Jon Gagan's sly, mournful bass line before the horns spark a fire, which in turn spurs the guitarist on an upbeat tangent. With its brisk, 6/8 rhythm and colorful improvisations off a folksy melody, "Alameda" is a mariachi-styled piece that contrasts dark and light to great effect. As a producer, Liebert likes to take chances with instrumentation to achieve particular moods. Indian tablas and Mike Middleton's muted trumpet spruce up the hypnotic atmosphere on "Desert Elysian," while Eric Schermerhorn's twangy slide guitar adds a dash of cowboy spunk to "Borboletta." If it sounds cinematic, so does Liebert's explanation. "Here I was drawing on the positive energy of love between two people as well as the glorious sights I saw on a trip to Tuscany with my family two years ago," he says. "Recording at my home studio in Santa Fe brought back memories of my firstrough demos for Nouveau Flamenco, and I sought to recapture the energy and rudimentary charm of those days."

Innamorarae: Summer Flamenco,Ottmar Liebert,Sony,Adult Alternative,Ethnic Fusion,Flamenco,Jazz Music,New Age / Meditation,Pop

Tracks:

Verano de Alegria
Nightflower
Ballad 4 Santana
Alameda
Bella
Spanish Steps
2 the Night
Borboletta
Aquarhythms
Summer Lovesong
Funky Poet
Ode 2 Love
Desert Elysium
Farewell 2 Summer

Amazon.com essential recording

As the title notes, Innamorare is indeed languid summer stock--blowzy like a breeze in the warmth of the sun, and, to the delight of his detractors, relatively light and lazy fare. While the album is not the fiery brand of traditional flamenco, Ottmar Liebert here marries his fusion of New Age jazz with ethnic rhythmic structures, making seductively sensual music that captures the spirit of romance rather than the white-hot technical virtuosity of his peers. Hunky Liebert makes what can be described as mood music for restaurants, bathtubs, and bedrooms and may well be the New Age woman's equivalent of the bodice-ripper crowd's Fabio. Fans of Liebert will relish the piquant elegance of "Ballad 4 Santana," bask in the warmth of "Desert Elysium," and luxuriate in the bittersweet strains of "Farewell 2 Summer." --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews:

Happy Music.......2001-08-09

Everytime I think I maybe should put different music to listen to in the car I think, "No, this is what makes me feel so good!" It's become a permanent fixture.

Very nice.......2001-07-08

I bought this album at one of his concerts! (You have to see this guy play live if you can!) The album is solid, there are 3 great songs (Verano de alegrias, Ballad for santana, and spanish steps) There's also a version of "2 the night" which is originally in the NOUVEAU FLAMENCO album. Overall this album is good. I did not give it 5 stars because it does not reach the level of NOUVEAU FLAMENCO or BORRASCA which are by far his best works!

Too Poignant for Elevators.......2001-04-18

Just a bit too impassioned & poignant to make comfortable elevator music. It would never do to arrive at the 13th floor starting to sniff about the opportunity for true love you bypassed 20 years ago or brooding about the inherent unfairness of life. Equally discomfitting would be to arrive at the top with actual feelings & passions. While Liebert's music will stir some of these up a bit, it's pretty vanilla stuff. Great new-age background music, even over dinner if you keep the volume down! I listen to this when hacking out lines of C code. It's got enough spunk to keep me awake, yet unobtrusive enough to stay out of my process.

A satisfying, new-agey background CD. A solid three stars--nothing exceptionally bad or exceptionally good, either. Enjoyable, but nothing to write home (or a review) about.

Not bad; not to my personal tastes, but okay..........2001-03-20

This CD was recommended to me when I inquired about Spanish guitar. No go, especially if you have Andres Segovia in mind. This is more an atmospheric CD, the kind you would expect to be played in the lobby of an upscale restaurant. Not bad in its own way, and it does lend a nice Latin flavor to one's home or business. Liebert does a good job, and this CD would be ideal as background music in a place where you want music to be there but somewhat unobtrusive.

Could be better.......2001-02-08

While Innamorare is certainly another example of Liebert's strong talent, I don't think it is his best work. Nearly every track seems to focus on catchy little phrases that are repeated mercilessly. For someone looking for an introduction to Ottmar Liebert, I recommend either Nouveau Flamenco or Borrasca, both of which are loaded with passionate and imaginative music.

Average customer rating:

Better than anything before
Very heavy and amazing acoustic power

Live...One Summer Night
Paco de Lucia
Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music

Flamenco | Latin Music | Styles | Music

General | Latin Music | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music

Latin Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

International | Imports | Stores | Music
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Album Details

2003 Reissue of a 1984 Live Album from the Legendary Flamenco Guitarist and his Group that Helped Modernize Flamenco and Redefine for the 20th Century. "Alta Mar" was Co-written with Oft-time Collaborator Al Dimeola.

Customer Reviews:

Better than anything before.......2005-10-09

As a Spanish guy with an always latent, recently exploded taste for flamenco, I must say this CD beats both "Friday Night in San Francisco" and "The Guitar Trio", better known internationally. Long beautiful songs that mix the best of two worlds: Traditional flamenco classics and mild Latin rhythms in a sonic twist that burst in a last minute of ecstasy and leaves you in awe with a fast beating heart at the end.

Very heavy and amazing acoustic power.......1999-04-07

This fine live recording is powerful and heavy and yet so beautiful. The rhythm and latin groove makes me kind of dizzy, eveyrytime I listen to it.

Average customer rating:

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Native Summer
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