Flamenco Tribute to Pat Metheny by Santiago Lara delivers exactly on what its title promises – a heady but brilliant clash of genres and styles which can turn on a dime to really surprise with inventiveness. Pat Metheny himself has collaborated with Polish songstress Anna-Marie Jopek on their joint release Upojenie to revisit his own repertoire in new settings. On Tribute, the guitar is instead in the silvery hands of Santiago Lara while lyrics like for "Find me in your dreams" are in Spanish and presented in the warbling Flamenco idiom. What could have been an ill-fated concept pitch reveals itself to be an inspired encounter, one as carefully conceived and crafted as Diego El Cigala's organic excursions into the cultures of Argentine tango or Cuban son, El Lebrijano's meetings with Moroccan musicians. Metheny fans will rediscover faithful old favourites like "Letter from home" and "James" without feeling alienated but rather, inspired by how PatMan's long-arcing lines have been given such a respectful cleverly restyled makeover. It's a far smarter proposition than Hollywood's endless reboots!
