Santa Fe guitarist Ottmar Liebert is in his element on his new CD, a solo guitar recording starring just him and his trusty flamenco guitar. There was nobody more popular than Liebert in the early 1990s, as his lightning-fast fingerpicking and flamenco brush-style strokes brought a touch of the exotic to the contemporary jazz airwaves. Liebert has since backed away from commercial music, and CDs like this one will be enjoyed mostly by guitar buffs and longtime fans of the flamencan fingerstyle method.
Instead of a solo recording in the vein of the tunes that made him popular, Liebert instead explores various moods. Ironically, the most memorable tune here is the exquisite “This Spring Release 10,000 Butterflies.” It’s a nod to his new age background. He must have liked it, too, as he created a video set to his many photographs in and around New Mexico that you can watch on YouTube.
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