Niño was born in Almeria in 1974, trained as a guitarra flamenca and has now appeared live and recorded with the older generation of acknowledged masters Enrique Morente and Paco de Lucia!

That said there’s little of the traditional 100mph heel banging of the flamenco (if any) on this album. And although he’s played with the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Alicia Keys and Elton John there’s no pop-rock in it either. In fact, can you see Sunday morning/lunch in that cover? That’s the feel I get out of this one. OK, it needs to be in a Spanish bar with a bit of tapas, preferably overlooking the sea or the mountains, but it’s mostly a laid-back affair.

From the opening title track (the only track not written by Josele), McCoy Tyner’s ‘Española’ (from the Soliloquy album on Blue Note) to the mournful ‘La Partida’ (with a string quartet!) this is a bit of a grower. Because of the strings, ‘La Partida’ is my current favourite and I’m not convinced that ‘Española’ is successfully transposed from piano to guitar. There’s a couple of ‘I remember Spain’ type jazz moments; ¿Es Esto Una Buleria? featuring Douglas Purviance trombone and the alto sax of veteran jazzman, Phil Woods, ‘Balcon De La Luna’ and ‘Gloria Bendita’ (this one with Papo Vázquez on trombone).

Papo Vázquez returns for a Latin jazz shuffle on ‘A Contratiempo’ with the guitar providing as much percussion as Pedro Matinez. Guitarist will love the expertise of ‘Camino De Lucia’ and ‘Zapateado Para Bebo’ (Josele has also played with Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger Bebo Valdes) and there’s even one for dinner jazz fans, Woods again on ‘Waltz For Bill’ (Evans).

I’d have preferred more of the jazziness myself but that’s just part of the story of the Española. Don’t try and pick tracks out as it’s very much a collection as a whole to listen to and it comes as no surprise that it was produced by a film director as there’s definitely a cinematic aura going on.

Traditional but not traditional; this guy is a player.

Hectic Mix nominations: ‘¿Es Esto Una Buleria?’, ‘Gloria Bendita’, ‘A Contratiempo’, ‘La Partida’.

ArtworkL Manny Faber ‘Earth, Fire, Air, Water’ [1984] oil on board.

Reviewed: Niño Josele - Española (Warner Music, Spain) Cat. No:2564686065 Release date: 8th February 2010
Tracklisting:
1 Española (7:33)
2 ¿Es Esto Una Buleria? (6:47)
3 Camino De Lucia (Rondeña) (6:29)
4 Gloria Bendita (Rumba) (3:34)
5 Waltz For Bill (4:08)
6 Zapateado Para Bebo (3:32)
7 Balcon De La Luna (Seguiriya) (3:00)
8 A Contratiempo (Buleria Y Tumbao) (4:15)
9 La Partida (4:31)

Links:
www.ninojosele.com
http://www.last.fm/music/Niño Josele
warnermusic.es
www.myspace.com/258466862
papovazquez.com
bebovaldes.com