Visit Michael Buffalo Smith web
Listen to Zola Moon or visit her web site
New Live CD Available Now
The Savoy Truffle read our CD review 1 & CD review 2 and visit their web site
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Visit Michael Buffalo Smith web
Listen to Zola Moon or visit her web site
|
|
New Live CD Available Now
The Savoy Truffle read our CD review 1 & CD review 2 and visit their web site
|
Laura Lahera and Fulvio Paredes - A Duet in One
Occasionally there is a guest, as on "Gracias A La Vida," but the percussion here is so soft as to merely be a faint underlining to a haunting love song. The same can be said for "Lamento Borincano," one of the most breathtaking tunes here, from 1930's Puerto Rico. It is a Latin hot night stirred up with sea breeze and latent sexuality - the theme of the album.
My personal favorite is "Pedacito De Cielo" which contains a breathtaking vocal performance, yet the addition of Matias de Oliveira Pinto's cello to "La Mentira" gives a rich vibrancy that the other tracks simply cannot achieve, not wallowing in such a heart- breaking lower register like that.
Argentinian guitarist Fulvio Paredes was born in Buenos Aires where he began guitar studies at age 6 with Professor Eduardo Frasson. From there, he studied jazz, harmony and improvisation at the Berklee School of Music in that same country, and enrolled in the Conservatoire of Popular Music in Geneva, Switzerland in 1985. After years of performing with jazz and rock groups, he finally found the perfect collaborator in Laura Lahera. "I have sung very little for the Spanish speaking public," says Laura, "nevertheless, even though the public does not understand the words, a lot of people 'feel' what the song says. My Latin audiences love Latin poetry; they have sensitivity. I chose the work not only because of the music, but also the lyrics. They are always songs that tell a story, and I prefer the stories that are well written, the stories that could be literature, such as certain tangos and boleros."
The internet has also been very useful for bringing the world closer to Paredes' and Lahera's door. Finding and hearing them online helps if you can't make it to European theaters such as the Concertgebough of Amsterdam, Palais Des Beaux Arts in Brussels, and the Tonhalle of Dusseldorff. That's where they've had their huge successes, especially with the big tango shows. "In general, we rehearse very intensely for 15 days before any tour. When we toured Israel, we rehearsed for two weeks, 8 hours a day. This was a very complex show, it was an opera called Maria De Buenos Aires. For a tour with a quartet, one or two weekends is fine, and then each one of us practices alone."
They are not currently touring. They were going to participate in the Festival De Tango De Tarbes, an event they had been involved with for the past six years. But they needed a rest. "We are getting ready for a flamenco/tango show," says Laura. "We are working on the concept. We are thinking of mixing the genres using the common elements. Playing with the lyrics and rhythms." The passion for beauty is the standout concept in their work. "Music is an extraordinary adventure with no limits except those brought on by our own creativity. A song is sung different each time. That is why it is always new and passionate every time, for the artist and the listener both."
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