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SOUND OF PERU

MANONGO MUJICA - «SONIDO DE LOS DIOSES» (SOUND OF THE GODS) (Cernicalo Productions, 2004)
In the words of Max Planck, which Mujica himself included in the leaflet accompanying this disk, «music is an attempt to solve, or at least express, the ultimate mystery of nature» The famous Peruvian percussionist who forms part of the emblematic Peru Jazz quartet, has based his whole career on the principle of discovering the intrinsic connection between harmony and the earth. In this CD, Muiica resorts to a whole arsenal of native instruments (seeds, the Andean drum, the «kalimba», the Peruvian percussion box, etc.), to produce a versatile itinerary of stimulating sounds that seem to date back to the ancestral wisdom of the first inhabitants of the area now known as Peru. It is also worth mentioning that Mujica did not embark on this adventure on his own; he is accompanied by the late «Chocolate»
Algendones (a master of the Afro-Peruvian percussion box), Pepita Garcia Miro, Cecar Vivanco and other artists.

TEMPLE DIABLO–ANDEAN GUITAR QUARTET (Independent, 2004)

The guitar is the harmonic instrument most representative of Peruvian music, partly because of the musical crossbreeding it has endured and also because it has helped create real schools of this instrument in the country’s different regions. Honouring the tradition of the Peruvian guitar, Temple Diablo made its appearance as a quartet that revisits some memorable pages of Andean folklore, such as «Mi amigo» (by the great Raul Garcia Zarate), «Vilcanota» (Guevara Ochoa) and the Peruvian waltz «Remembranzas» (Pedro Espinel). A delicate piece of work that reaches peaks of real emotion, lyricism and musical refinement. It is a well known fact that updating traditional themes with freshness is a task that very few musicians achieve successfully. The appearance of this quartet has helped maintain alive a tradition that, undoubtedly, is a long way from becoming extinct. Raul Cachay).