Solo Guitarra

José Luis Montón

EN / DE

Catalan guitarist José Luis Montón (born in Barcelona in 1962) made a vital contribution to singer Amina Alaoui’s “Arco Iris” and during the session producer Manfred Eicher determined that a Montón solo project would be highly appropriate for ECM. Thus this extraordinary disc, recorded in Lugano last year. It’s a major artistic statement. With its programme of Montón compositions drawing upon the melodic subtleties, rhythmic vitality and emotional power of flamenco, making connections also to classical tradition, it can at once take its place alongside the label’s finest solo guitar albums.

Der katalonische Gitarrist José Luis Montón (1962 in Barcelona geboren) hat durch seine bemerkenswerten Beiträge zu Amina Alaouis Album "Arvo Iris" auf sich aufmerksam gemacht. Während der Aufnahmen zu diesem Album entschied Produzent Manfred Eicher, dass ein Soloalbum Montóns hervorragend zu ECM passen würde. Soweit die Vorgeschichte dieses außergewöhnlichen Albums, das im vergangenen Jahr in Lugano aufgenommen wurde. Es ist ein beeindruckendes künstlerisches Statement. Mit seinem Programm aus Montón-Kompositionen plus einer Bearbeitung von Johann Sebastian Bachs "Air" verbindet es die melodische Subtilität, rhythmische Vitalität und emotionale Kraft des Flamenco mit der Tradition der klassischen Musik und findet so seinen Platz unter den schönsten Gitarrenalben des Labels.
Featured Artists Recorded

April 2011, Auditorio RSI - Radio Svizzera, Lugano

Original Release Date

09.11.2012

  • 1Rota
    (José Luis Montón)
    05:52
  • 2Española
    (José Luis Montón)
    05:07
  • 3Son & Kete
    (José Luis Montón)
    03:53
  • 4Air
    (Johann Sebastian Bach)
    03:30
  • 5Altolaguirre
    (José Luis Montón)
    02:50
  • 6Con permiso
    (José Luis Montón)
    04:51
  • 7Al oído
    (José Luis Montón)
    04:39
  • 8Conclusión
    (José Luis Montón)
    05:49
  • 9Detallitos
    (José Luis Montón)
    04:58
  • 10Hontanar
    (José Luis Montón)
    05:21
  • 11Tarareando
    (José Luis Montón)
    05:57
  • 12Piel suave
    (José Luis Montón)
    04:52
  • 13Te he de querer mientras viva
    (José Luis Montón)
    01:28
“As the title says, there is nothing but guitar”, José Luis Montón remarks in a brief and self-effacing liner note. Just an acoustic guitar, and an astonishing guitarist. Over the years at ECM it has often been the case that one record production has opened a door into another, and when Manfred Eicher heard José Luis Montón’s creative and sensitive playing at the session for singer Amina Alaoui’s Pan-Iberian “Arco Iris” project, the potential of a solo disc from Montón was apparent at once. Like “Arco Iris”, “Solo Guitarra” was recorded at the Auditorium RSI Lugano in Switzerland. The session took place in April 2011, exactly one year after the Alaoui date.

In the solo pieces heard here the resourceful Montón builds upon the template, energy and emotional intensity of flamenco in the creation of his own pieces, rooted in the tradition and at the same time reaching toward new destinations: “Flamenco is very beautiful in itself and I am deeply grateful for the inspiration it has given me throughout my career and my personal struggle to find myself through music. I owe a special debt of gratitude to all the great masters of flamenco guitar that have enriched so much its language, introducing new characters in the alphabet of flamenco.” The flow of ideas in Montón’s pieces can be breathtaking, as melodic lines splinter into flurries of notes or dance elegantly through stacked rhythms, virtuosity always harnessed to thoroughly musical ends. The music also draws from other resources including classical music, Baroque music being specifically acknowledged with the J.S. Bach-inspired “Air”, which references the “Air” from Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068.