CCMusic.com

The Danish ensemble Flamenco Passion meets three soloists of international class, namely master guitarist Mikkel Nordsø, violinist Bjarke Falgren and harmonica player Mathias Heise on the new album A Tribute to Paco de Lucia. The group Flamenco Passion are among the very best flamenco fusion groups in Scandinavia, led by guitarist Poul Jacek Knudsen alongside bassist Nicolai Land and percussionist Anders Pedersen. The album is a tribute to the late flamenco guitar icon Paco de Lucia, who has inspired countless flamenco artists and great jazz musicians such as Chick Corea and George Benson. The repertoire presented is original Flamenco Passion themes, one composition by Paco de Lucia plus two tracks composed by Mikkel Nordsø. The album is a journey through moods and emotions, and the passion comes alive in the complex compositions with the recurrent themes and well performed improvisations. Poul Jacek Knudsen has performed in many flamenco constellations, both as a soloist and accompanist to song and dance, and with different Spanish artists, such as Lucia Alvarez "La Piñona" (dance), Lakshmi Basile "La Chimi" (dance), one of his guitar maestros Antonio Jero and singer Juan Murube, who participates on the current album with palmas (handclaps) and jaleos (calls of cheer and encouragement). Mikkel Nordsø is a Danish guitar legend. In addition to playing in his own band Mikkel Nordsø Band, he has also played, performed and/or recorded with notabilities such as Palle Mikkelborg, Terri Lyne Carrington, George Duke, David Sanborn, Lisa Nilsson and many others. Violinist Bjarke Falgren is a musical mastermind on the violin. He is a fourfold Grammy Award winner and one of Denmark's best and most recognized violin virtuosos. Falgren has released 11 albums, worked on TV and theatre projects, and worked with the likes of Mads Mathias, Mathias Heise, Jacob Fischer and many others. Mathias Heise is one of the world's leading harmonica players, having won the Chromatic Harmonica World Championship in 2013. He is also the recipient of The Danish Crown Prince Couple's prestigious Stardust Award and the Ben Webster prize, as the youngest recipient ever and has recently performed with harmonica player Antonio Serrano, who actually played in the latest group of Paco de Lucia. Immerse yourself in the rich history of flamenco, unfolding with each strum of the guitar from some of the very best in the business!