The most crucial experiences in contemporary Spanish music come together in the tandem formed by CARLES BENAVENT and JOSEMI CARMONA.
Carles is a Catalan who since he started out at the beginning of the
seventies in the band Música Urbana -in which he started his uninterrupted
collaboration with the pianist, clarinettist and composer Joan Albert
Amargòs- has been opening a new panorama of current possibilities
for both cultivated and popular Spanish music. His work in the fields
of flamenco and jazz has had worldwide recognition through his collaborations
with Miles Davis, Paco de Lucía, Quincy Jones, and Chick Corea,
among others.
JOSEMI CARMONA, a gypsy from Andalusia born in Madrid, is a descendant
of the guitarist dynasty of the Habichuelas. Almost always working within
the family, Josemi added his talent to the talent of his cousins of the
band Ketama with whom he participated in several productive gatherings
with Toumani Diabate, Danny Thompson, Michel Camilo, Cheb Khaled, Caetano
Veloso, and Nitin Sawhney, to only mention a few.
Sumando, is the first collaboration between CARLES BENAVENT and JOSEMI
CARMONA, and the recording debut of the latter outside of KETAMA. It is
neither a whimsical combination nor a reunion of virtuosos. It is an organic
entity, where composition and interpretation are balanced exquisitely,
and turns out to be the most important step in recent years towards the
great flamenco music of the future. The record’s nine cuts never
move away from flamenco´s rhythm and emotion, and they have the
apparent easiness of the meticulously done work. Its intimate atmosphere
didn’t prevent two guests of a very high quality, the cantaor from
Madrid, Diego El Cigala and the American pianist Chick Corea, to intervene.
