Rating: NNNN
Mixing flamenco and Gypsy music with a New Age feel, Willie Royal and Wolfgang ‘Lobo’ Fink serve up a platter as good as anything in their 20-year partnership. Don’t let the New Age tag scare you. There are no John Tesh moments here, just well-constructed, solid songs that flow nicely from beginning to end, with Willie’s violin and Lobo’s guitar setting the stage and keeping the pace. That pace is largely upbeat — ‘Gypsy boogaloo,’ as they call it. As good as the pair are, though, it’s trumpeter Rick Braun who steals the show on Zambra. Willie and Lobo are confident enough in their own abilities to allow another to shine, and from the brilliant Ven A La Cama to the sublime Donde Vayo, Braun does just that. Zambra is the product of two very capable artists who can play off each other like nobody’s business and who have come up with a cohesive album that anyone who’s into world or New Age music is sure to dig.
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