If you like real Spanish style flamenco guitar music check this out! PENA y ALEGRIA was such a pleasure to make. This was a labor of love that came together with the help of many fine people including: Rami Ziadeh who weaves an elegant tapestry of incredible percussion on nearly every track. Bob Afifi’s amazing flute improvisations on “La Sultana” and “Torbellino” add a dimension of sultry intensity. The palmas were done by three great flamenco dancers; La Tania, La Monica and La Linda, who is also a middle eastern dancer and played zils on “La Sultana”. Every track is available for you to sample. Explore the rich variety of flamenco styles including alegrías, soleares, bulerías, granaínas, sigiriyas, and guajiras as well as rumbas and tangos. I hope you enjoy listening to this CD. If you want more info about me check out my website http://www.marktaylorflamenco.com Flamenco "compositions" are generally by nature variations on traditional themes. What gives each form its own special mood or "aire" is a combination of thematic material with rhythmic structure (compas), tempo, and modality. The flamenco composer strives to maintain the integrity of traditional style while contributing something personal and creative to the repertoire. "My goal as a performer, composer and recording artist is to interpret and share the rich diversity and emotional authenticity that is inherent in the music. Flamenco can be described simply as the gypsy music of Andalucia, Spain, yet the elements and influences of flamenco are anything but simple." The music absorbs and reflects the influences of four cultures that over time have flourished in Andalucia, i.e. Islamic, Christian, Jewish and Gypsy. More recently influences from Cuba and South America such as the rumba, guajira and colombianas have enriched the repertoire of traditional and contemporary flamenco. The result is a fusion that is exotic and mysterious, sultry and sensuous. It is at times sorrowful and tragic yet always triumphant in spirit.