Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Luis Merino: Blacky

5

Luis Merino: Blacky

By

Sign in to view read count
Luis Merino: Blacky
A strident piano chord progression introduces the moderately-paced majestic opener "New Day" with a lithely executed melody from the guitar of Luis Merino, leader of a quartet hailing from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. Proceedings hot-up with the brisk toe-tapper "El Estandar" clearly demonstrating that the guitarist is no slouch when it come to playing or writing good tunes. The more sedate "Returning" has Jose Alberto Medina on melodica-like keyboard tone lending a romantic air to this emotionally-charged ballad.

Things start to move apace again on " Sr. Castaño" with Medina's deft piano propelling the number along. "Changes" and the fast moving and memorable "Landing" subtly showcase the talented Xerach Peñate's drum technique. She most obviously possesses the ability to employ both power and sensitivity and with bassist Tana Santana, they jointly provide an essential backbone to the group.

Lustrous piano introduces the languid "The First One," essentially a duet with dulcet toned guitar picking a delicate melody in tandem with the keyboard. By contrast, the final, title track, and the longest at nearly ten minutes, begins in a jazz rock style but swiftly moves into a more laid-back section, highlighting Merino's fluid playing, before picking up the tempo once again, led by Chick Corea-esque keyboards and resolving in a quiet fade-out.

But how to describe Merino's warm-toned guitar style? It's decidedly at the Kenny Burrell/Pat Metheny end of the spectrum which results in a listening experience which will equally engage guitarists and non-guitarists, jazz and non-jazz fans alike. The result? An unequivocally good debut album.

Track Listing

New Day; El Estandar; Returning; Sr. Castaño; Changes; Landing; The First One; Blacky

Personnel

Luis Merino
guitar, electric

Luis Merino: guitar; Jose Alberto Medina: keyboards; Tana Santana: bass; Xerach Peñate: drums.

Album information

Title: Blacky | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Self Produced

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.