On that evening in Paris, the mikes were on – to conclude a partnership between the Arte Flamenco Festival and Scala Music – but above all, they were awaiting ‘elevation’, the “duende” (a heightened state of expression or emotion) which played its part in the jam-packed auditorium. Rafael Riqueni performed his entire body of work, spanning almost forty years of composition, presented chronologically. The man, who did not get up once during his recital, brought people to tears, left expressive periods of silence, stirred up memories, and astonished the audience with some virtuosic flourishes. Without the instrument of his life leaving his embrace, Rafael Riqueni had not yet finished. The three encores opened up a never-ending world as if he were only halfway down the track, ready to turn the next corner. Único!

Armik has driven deep into his quest to create first rate Nuevo Flamenco music with this ambitious 11 track recording titled ENAMOR. As his 28th release on Bolero Records, it is an exceptional example of the art of Armik both as a guitar virtuoso and as a composer. Throughout this recording he retains a Spanish Guitar sensibility in his precise touch while his compositions yield refined, romantic chords that leave you breathless and obsessed with his award-winning arrangements. ENAMOR. is a beautiful recording on which Armik demonstrates a completely original sound that is sophisticated yet creative. He makes each note count while playing with his delicate touch and makes sure that you emerge with a greater appreciation of his musicality and all that is heard in the fine art of Nuevo Flamenco.

Recorded on 25 and 26 April 1991 at the Teatro Bulevar Casa de Cultura in Torrelones (Madrid) and originally released in October 1991, it was a respectful flamenco vision of Spanish classical music in a flamenco style. In it, Paco de Lucía performs with the Cadaqués Orchestra, conducted by Edmon Colomer, the concerto for guitar and orchestra that Joaquín Rodrigo wrote under the title Concierto de Aranjuez. To complete the album, he recorded with Juan Manuel Cañizares and Jose María Bandera three pieces, arranged by Juan Manuel Cañizares, from Isaac Albéniz's Suite Iberia. The result was absolutely devastating and is one of the best known and recognised versions of Maestro Rodrigo's masterful work.

Fabulous guitar in name and fabulous guitar in sound; along with a carefully selected repertoire, which shows off a refined panorama of the Flamenco toque offering an intelligent variety of genres for this his first full length album as a solo artist. The titles of the tracks selected show his great connection to the land, offering us a selection of the fundamental styles of the Flamenco geography: ‘Triana’, ‘Cádiz’, ‘Punta Umbría’, ‘Jerez’, ‘La Unión’, ‘La Caleta’ and ‘El Tajo’. Recorded when Paco was just 19, in addition to the use of the Flamenco techniques of the time (reverb, echo, etc.), here there is a superb sense of the compass of Flamenco, a fabulous right hand technique (thumb, alzapua, strumming), dizzying picados and perfect legato of the left hand.

Since Almoraima (1976) Paco had not recorded an album which we could call authentically Flamenco. Not like his early recordings, which centred on classic guitar toques as played in concert. On Siroco, he abandons for the moment the sound of The Sextet to mark out in eight pieces the new vanguard of Flamenco creation. A record for lovers of good music, a mature and worthy work.

When Paco de Lucía made the groundbreaking Almoraima, he was just 28 years old. Already established as a prodigious talent, he used to opportunity to expand the possibilities of the flamenco music he loved so much. It wasn't so much the addition of bass and congas (he'd employed them before) as his entire rethinking of what constituted flamenco. The title cut, which opened the album, emphasized the Moorish influence, not only in the presence of the lute-like oud, but in its melody, which borrows from Arab maqams, or modes. "Rio Ancho" transports the rhumba rhythm to Brazil, melding it to a feel taken from bossa nova, which makes it all the more sinuous and sensual.

Recorded in 1973, this album signified a leap in the popularity of Paco de Lucía. With this recording, a new cycle of his career began. The Algeciran found himself at a level of technical and stylistic perfection never previously reached by any Flamenco artist. As much in creative as interpretative terms the level of maturity of the young guitarist brought to fruition an astonishing array of means of expression. Paco de Lucía achieved international as well as national recognition with the release of this album, owing greatly to the popularity of the rumba ‘Entre Dos Aguas’, which was only added at the last minute because only seven tracks had been recorded for the album up to that point.

Mario Escudero (October 11, 1928 – November 19, 2004), was one of a handful of Spanish flamenco guitar virtuosos who, following on the footsteps of Ramon Montoya, helped spread flamenco beyond their Spanish homeland when they migrated to the United States in the early 1950s. Along with others such as Sabicas, Carlos Montoya and Juan Serrano, Escudero helped forge the viability of solo flamenco guitar as a concert instrument, with lauded performances at New York's Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and other venues. Invited to perform at the White House for President John F. Kennedy, Escudero was counted among the best in his era; Ramón Montoya called him "the best flamenco guitarist of this new generation."

Flautist/saxophonist Jorge Pardo is a leading proponent of nuevo flamenco. On his fifth release, he pushes the envelope, presenting jazz standards and pop alongside more traditional compositions. "Caravan" lends itself well to rhythmic interpretations, but the arrangement degenerates midway into a dark-toned muddle. "'Round Midnight" and "Michelle," presented simply with flute and guitar, fare better, coming across as pleasant, "light jazz" renditions. The balance of the compositions are mostly by Pardo, and make his case more persuasively.

Diego Ramon Jimenez Salazar (Madrid, 27 de diciembre de 1968), mas conocido como El Cigala, es un cantaor de flamenco espanol de etnia gitana y nacionalidad dominicana desde 2014. Es "Diego" resultado de una disputa familiar producida por su padre y su tio en la pila bautismal; y "el cigala" apodo que recibio de los hermanos Losadas, guitarristas. Crecio cerca de la zona del Rastro, en el barrio de Embajadores de Madrid. Sobrino del cantante flamenco Rafael Farina, a los 12 anos gano un concurso de flamenco y el primer premio del certamen al mejor cantaor de Getafe. En 1997 publica Undebel, su primer disco en solitario, donde colaboran entre otros Tomatito y Paquete. En el 2000,

With a quivering, seductive, mournful, and remarkably flexible voice, Concha Buika earned a healthy following in her homeland as the great ‘00s chanteuse of flamenco. The singer enchanted crowds on a U.S. tour just prior to her 2008 stateside debut, NINA DE FUEGO, a bewitching and diverse record featuring echoes of everything from Coltrane to Jobim to Radiohead. The sound ranges from the dark offbeat artistry of the title track to the downright breezy playfulness of “Arboles de Agua,” on an engrossing opening statement of an album.