Sevilla

Album Review

Part of the new flamenco movement along with Ottmar Liebert and Strunz & Farah, the guitar duo of Dan Young and Lawson Rollins plays the particular Spanish style with a contemporary jazz and new age attitude. While acknowledging the classical tradition carried on by such luminaries as Paco de Lucia, Young & Rollins also showcase their formidable guitar technique against the occasional funky, finger-slap bassline. Taken as a whole, the combination creates an interesting rub of traditions — funk meets flamenco. Although Sevilla is full of real grit and passion for Spanish music, the other, more contemporary tradition in the smooth genre of eschewing solos in favor of endlessly repeated melodic themes renders these tracks somewhat anonymous. That said, Young & Rollins do seem to have an excitement for performing that comes through in many of the well-executed arrangements that build the tension to more than a few hot conclusions.