As the title says, there is nothing but guitar, the Catalan Jos� Luis Mont�n (born in Barcelona in 1962) remarks in a brief and self-effacing liner note. Just an acoustic guitar, and an astonishing guitarist. Over the years at ECM it has often been the case that one record production has opened a door into another, and when producer Manfred Eicher heard Jos� Luis Mont�n's creative and sensitive playing at the session for singer Amina Alaoui's Pan-Iberian 'Arco Iris' project, he determined that a Mont�n solo project would be highly appropriate for the label. Thus this extraordinary disc, recorded in Lugano in April 2011.
It's a major artistic statement. With its programme of Mont�n compositions drawing upon the melodic subtleties, rhythmic vitality and emotional power of flamenco, making connections also to classical tradition, it can at once take its place alongside the label's finest solo guitar albums.
Flamenco is very beautiful in itself and I am deeply grateful for the inspiration it has given me throughout my career and my personal struggle to find myself through music, he says. I owe a special debt of gratitude to all the great masters of flamenco guitar that have enriched so much its language, introducing new characters in the alphabet of flamenco. The flow of ideas in Mont�n's pieces can be breathtaking, as melodic lines splinter into flurries of notes or dance elegantly through stacked rhythms, virtuosity always harnessed to thoroughly musical ends. The music also draws from other resources including classical music, Baroque music being specifically acknowledged with the JS Bach-inspired 'Air', which references the Air from Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068.
Personnel: Jos� Luis Mont�n (guitar)
