Calima (Sunnyside)
Diego Barber
Released March 24, 2009
2009 Top 10 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nbnnzppQz_62yaY36hmxFWV46fjPaswGY
Spotify:
About:
Enthusiasm to explore uncharted terrain is a trait important to young, evolving musicians. Guitarist Diego Barber’s enthusiasm is easily gauged by his commitment to challenge himself.
Upon leaving his home in Spain for NewYork City, Barber quickly made his first recording Calima, a fantastic showcase of his talent as a composer and improviser. Barber is originally from the Canary Islands and has been studying classical guitar from an early age. Upon subsequent schooling, he found himself drawn to jazz music and found a new challenge to tackle. Barber continued his studies throughout Europe before settling in NewYork. Barber has spared no time searching for the right musicians for the project. He chose the formidable progressive jazz trio known as FLY to be his foil. The highly regarded group includes saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. These musicians prove to be extremely responsive to Barber’s writing and performing style that can be reflective or dynamic. A balance is present in these performances reminiscent of a talent with much more experience. Calima is a strong statement for a wonderful up and coming artist.
Track Listing:
1. Piru (Diego Barber) 06:51
2. 190 East (Diego Barber) 05:37
3. Desierto (Diego Barber) 08:12
4. Catalpa (Diego Barber) 04:01
5. Lanzarote (Diego Barber) 09:52
6. Richi (Diego Barber) 05:05
7. Virgianna (Diego Barber) 03:25
8. Air (Diego Barber) 20:51
Personnel:
Diego Barber: guitar
Jeff Ballard: drums
Larry Grenadier: acoustic bass
Mark Turner: saxophones
Recorded April 2008, at Legacy Recording Studios, NY
Producer: Chema Vílchez and Diego Barber
Engineering, Mixing and Mastering: Pete Karam Cover Photo: Jesús Yagüe
Review:
I don’t know if I can say that Calima is “The Best Jazz Record of 2009,” but I can certainly say that it was one of the sweetest surprises for me. Diego Barber is a wonderfully imaginative guitarist who plays improvisational music on a nylon-stringed instrument. Like kindred spirit Ralph Towner, Barber is classically trained. He was born in Lanzarote, the easternmost of the Canary Islands. His mother pushed classical music, but he got an electric guitar when he was 10, at which point the struggle began. Barber resolves it well on Calima. The opener, “Piru,” is a good example: It’s a quartet performance which features saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. It begins in a Towneresque fashion, but then Barber introduces a classical/folkloric theme that transports you to someplace between the Madrid where he studied and the New York where he now lives. Diego Barber takes you to a place born of a volcano — made up mostly of mountains, desert, and beaches — where the dry Saharan air settles and lifts you into a dream.
Tom Cole (npr)
