Viento y Marea

Jazz and flamenco are niche genres that have had towering peaks yet are currently in troughs in terms of both popularity and accessibility. Anyone setting out to fuse them is aiming at a minutely small audience - Andalusian intellectuals of a certain age or perhaps Europhile metropolitan Latinos desperate for a new fad. Jerez Texas is an accomplished trio of bass, guitar and percussion who, with their five guests, gamely employ jazz to deconstruct and internationalise flamenco. Arab, Brazilian, trad jazz and pop-classical can all be heard across the 11-song cycle. Jazz fusion - the 70s scene that produced the likes of Weather Report - also exercises its influence, leading to virtuoso displays that evince little emotion. I’m unsure where the Texan bit comes in, except as an allusion to the alienated, off- kilter ambience of the movie Paris Texas. A couple of songs - notably ‘La Chevauchée’ and ‘Golondrina Herida’ - stand out for their energy and eclectic vitality, but it’s hard to find a compelling narrative across the album as a whole.