Ottmar
Liebert Mixes Nouveau Flamenco, Symphony:
New CD Resonates with Beauty
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Lynn Cline Guitar-wizard Ottmar Liebert has played with the sounds of Singapore tree frogs, Milan street noise and Japanese temple bells. With his new recording, he's managed to push the musical boundaries even further. Leaning Into the Night, Liebert's first album for Sony Classical, pairs the musician's nouveau flamenco style with a full symphony orchestra for a dozen songs, six written by Liebert and six classical pieces (Puccini's aria O Mio babbino Caro; Ravel's Piano Concerto in G and Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte; Villa-Lobo's Prelude No. 3; Satie's Gymnope die No. 1; and Federico Mompou's Secreto). "Playing with an orchestra is like building the cathedral in Cologne or Notre Dame," said the Santa Fe-based Liebert, sitting in a local restaurant to talk about his innovative new album. Oscar Castro-Neves, a renowned Brazilian guitarist, played an instrumental role in creating the album. He assembled and conducted more than 70 classical musicians in the orchestra and co-produced the recording. "Being Brazilian, Oscar of course, is a romantic," Liebert said. "He loves melodies. He does something beautiful rather than clever." Full of Liebert's passion and the orchestra's rich, harmonious tones, Leaning Into the Night resonates with beauty. Whether he's playing his Flamenca Negra, a guitar with a cedar top and Brazilian rosewood sides and back made by Santa Fe's Keith Vizcarra, or his Flamenca Blanca, fashioned from a cedar top with Spanish cypress sides and back, the sound pulls you in. Liebert began playing guitar at 11 and, growing up in Cologne, Germany, went on to study classical guitar. First in Germany, then in America, he played with jazz funk bands but soon became disenchanted with the music business, he said. Instead of performing, Liebert traveled west and stopped to visit Santa Fe. He never left. Liebert began playing classical music in venues around town and started studying flamenco guitar. Liebert produced his first recording with help from the late Frank Howell and sold it during Indian Market in 1989. It became his debut album, Nouveau Flamenco (Higher Octave), which went platinum after selling more than a million copies in the United States. Liebert since has release eight additional albums that have sold millions around the world. His 1991 release, Borrasca, was nominated for a Grammy, while solo Para Ti, released in 1992, put Liebert on Billboard's top 100 Pop albums. Liebert has his own recording studio, Spiral Subwaves, in Santa Fe. He said that each of his recording reflects the mood he was in while creating it. For Leaning Into the Night he was in a sweet, romantic state of mind. The title eloquently captures the album's lyrical, passionate mood. Liebert's band, Luna Negra, takes its name from a poem by Federico Garcia Lorca. "One of my favorite poets is Pablo Neruda," Liebert said. "One of his poems has a line similar to this line: A lot of music often happens during the night. There's definitely a different feeling to the night." Liebert's music has taken him around the world to audiences in South America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. He's played benefit concerts for the Dali Lama and a group of Tibetan nuns mistreated by the Chinese government and for the Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety. He's opened for Miles Davis and Natalie Davis and played Jay Leno's Tonight Show. Liebert's journeys through Russia and Asia inspired the songs he composed for his new album. Wherever he goes, he can't help challenging himself to remain open to transformation. "My music has always been about discovery," he said. "That's why my records all sound so different. The artists I most respect and admire are the artists who don't get stuck in the same style." Liebert's taste in music reflects the variety in his style. He has 1,500 CDs in his collection, he said. "Lots were given to me. They're listed from A to Z, and I might listen to, say, Mahler's symphony or Ravel, Soundgarden, Miles Davis, Chet Baker. Or it could be flamenco music. I might go from Brian Eno or Peter Gabriel when I wake up in the morning to jazz in the evening. Duke Ellington was right when he said there's only bad or good music. While
Liebert doesn't plan to tour this year, he does have one concert in mind,
right here in Santa Fe: a benefit for the Salazar Elementary School, April
25 at the James A. Little Theater. "That will be the only show for next
year, he said. "Instead, I'll concentrate on two or three recordings planned
for 1998." |