- Estrella Morente
Did you make it through all of the Empty Bottle’s outdoor festival Saturday without losing a single toe to the cold? Still in the mood to check out some live music? Well, you’re in luck, because there are plenty of shows worth seeing this week.
Peter Margasak writes that Estrella Morente has been carrying on the legacy of her late father, iconoclastic flamenco singer Enrique Morente. “On the cover of her most recent album, 2012’s Autorretrato (Parlophone Spain), he’s pictured standing behind her, and he duets with her on the closing track, ‘Adagio,’” Margasak writes. “The recording is Estrella’s most diverse and assured, and she uses every track to explore a different interest. The opening track, ‘Pregon de las Moras,’ has a minimalist arrangement by English composer Michael Nyman whose strict, stately orchestral pulse contrasts beautifully with the passion in Morente’s husky, sorrowful voice. Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny fits right in on ‘Find Me in Your Dreams,’ and on the clave-driven ‘Cuba Cai’ bassist Alain Perez lends his expertise at fusing flamenco and Cuban son. But for me Morente is at her best in more traditional settings, threading her voice through the stuttering palmas and forceful guitar of, say, ‘Como la Corriente’ or ‘En un Sueño Viniste,’ which features lead guitar by Vicente Amigo (heavies such as Paco De Lucia and Tomatito also make cameos).”
