Diego Amador
With influences ranging from Tomatito and Paco de Lucia to Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans, acoustic pianist Diego Amador is an experimental, risk-taking instrumentalist who fuses Spanish flamenco with jazz (mostly post-bop, although he is hip to fusion and avant-garde jazz, as well). The Spanish musician/composer isn't a purist when it comes to flamenco; a totally traditional flamenco artist wouldn't have recorded a piece by the late electric bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius ("Continuum"). And Amador's main instrument, the acoustic piano, is hardly flamenco's main instrument -- some flamenco purists would even argue that the phrase "flamenco pianist" is an oxymoron, and that the acoustic guitar is the only real flamenco instrument. Nonetheless, Amador has clearly mastered flamenco forms such as the bulería and the solea, and he combines them with a strong appreciation of post-bop pianists like Jarrett, Evans, and Corea (who has experimented with flamenco on more than a few occasions). Although most of Amador's jazz influences come from the post-bop realm, he appreciates fusion (Pastorius certainly played fusion) and occasionally acknowledges free jazz and the avant-garde. Amador has an inside/outside perspective -- probably about 85-to-90 percent inside, ten-to-15 percent outside -- and there are times when the influence of the iconoclastic Cecil Taylor (the most important pianist in the history of free jazz) asserts itself. Technically, Amador's music could be described as Latin jazz; flamenco is Latin music, and Amador is combining it with jazz. But the term Latin jazz has usually been used to describe a blend of jazz and Afro-Cuban jazz rhythms -- something that Cal Tjader, Poncho Sanchez, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, Machito, and Dizzy Gillespie have all been known for -- and that isn't Amador's specialty. Therefore, it's best to be as specific as possible and describe Amador's work as flamenco jazz or Spanish jazz (which could also describe Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain and some of Corea's work).
Amador (who plays the acoustic guitar as a second instrument) was born in Seville, Spain in 1973. He came from a very musical family; his older brothers Raimundo and Rafael Amador played acoustic guitar in the well-known '80s nuevo flamenco outfit Pata Negra, and his interest in music was also encouraged by his father (who brought him a Hammond organ when he was a kid). Amador did something very unusual with that instrument -- he used it to play bulerías -- and he went on to apply his knowledge of flamenco to the acoustic piano. In August 2002, the pianist caught the attention of two people from Fantasy Records: Ralph Kaffel and Bill Belmont, who were visiting Barcelona, Spain for a convention and attended one of his concerts. Before long, Amador signed with the Fantasy-owned Milestone label, and in November 2002, he recorded his debut album, Piano Jondo, in Madrid. Piano Jondo, which Amador arranged and co-produced, was released on Milestone/Fantasy in the United States in July 2003.
© Alex Henderson /TiVo
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En La Feria De La Bambera
Israel Fernandez, Diego Amador
Flamenco - Released by Universal Music Spain S.L. on Sep. 9, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Scherzo Flamenco
Folk - Released by Rumor Records on Oct. 15, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dentro de Tu Alma
World - Released by Nuevos Medios S.L. on Feb. 14, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Jondo (Diego Amador)
World - Released by world village on Jul. 10, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Flamenco Jazz Tribute, Live in Paris
World - Released by DA Music on Jan. 25, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Río de los Canasteros (Diego Amador)
World - Released by world village on Jan. 31, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Río de los Canasteros
World - Released by Nuevos Medios S. A. on Jan. 31, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Jondo
World - Released by Nuevos Medios S. A. on Jan. 31, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Canción De Amor
Diego Amador, Jose Maria Bandera
Classical - Released by Diego Amador & José María Bandera on Oct. 21, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz a l'Estudi: Diego Amador
Jazz - Released by CCMA, SA on Jan. 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
El Aire de Lo Puro
World - Released by Nuevos Medios S. A. on Jan. 31, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hvite Hestens Vuggesang - Nana del Caballo Grande
World - Released by Musikkmakeriet on Sep. 9, 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Rosa Cautiva
La Susi, Diego Amador, Pedro Cortes
Flamenco - Released by Wake Up! Music on Feb. 23, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Soy De Las 3000
World - Released by Alacran Records on Mar. 6, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eg Veit I Himmerik ei Borg (Un Castillo en el Cielo)
Flamenco - Released by Musikkmakeriet on Jun. 24, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Callejón Del Muro Y Montiño
Classical - Released by Diego Amador Music on Dec. 16, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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En La Feria De La Bambera
Israel Fernandez, Diego Amador
Flamenco - Released by Universal Music Spain S.L. on Sep. 9, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -