LA ESPERANZA
La Esperanza
(p) (c) 1998 Higher Octave Music
16tks/63mins

You switch on "La Esperanza", and here you are captured by this music. Strong rhythms of flamenco come like noisy ocean waves. Passion and span of free wind rush into your home together with this music and you are just floating on the endless waves, directed by guitars of Carlos Willalobos and Andre Barboza. Their mutual project is not occasionally named "La Esperanza", which means "Hope". Their music rises spirit, it is very light and optimistic. It brings hope and some wonderfully light emotions. It is the real flamenco, passionate to a frenzy. This is the flamenco, which can not leave somebody indifferent, which tends to round you in fire dance.

Still I need to say that the album is various: one can find here not only rhythmical, inspiring melodies. Guitarists show that they can perform tender, slow themes (as, for example "Gabriell's Lullaby". And everywhere the sound is very good. As it is said, the guitars "sound". Their play is powerful, sharp, well made. Well, Carlos Willalobos has good experience: he developed into session player, with credits on Michael Jackson's «You Are Not Alone,» and Everette Harp's «Everything I Do...» among others.

I can add that the record of the project began in May, 1995. And I need to say that the music of "La Esperanza" is really sincere. "The songs on "La Esperanza" have a closeness to me," says Villalobos, "because they're about my family and the sings they went through in everyday life. As I started writing the songs for "La Esperanza" (the word means "hope"), the theme was more about my family and how hope was all they had to keep them going. It's funny because when we started using the name, our luck got better. Therefore, esperanza, or hope, is now all around us and the main ingredient to our music."

I'd like also to mention that in the recording of the album took part vocalist Glenn Medeiros. His soft and at the same time emotional vocal can be heard on "What Would Love Do Now".

Don't miss "La Esperanza". This is not only classical flamenco. This is the very music which embellishes our world and can support us in a hard minute. If you have problems, listen to "La Esperanza", this living coctail of passionate Spanish melodies. And there is nothing else. Only this celebration… This joy… This aroma… The aroma of the Life itself.

Serge Kozlovsky