José Luís Gámez-Dani Pérez: "String Captives"

It is always wonderful to come across guitarists from other cultures who share an almost universal commonality to improvised music with their jazz guitar brethren from around the globe. Indeed, the communication of great music truly knows no borders, which is why I was quite excited to receive the CD “String Captives” from Spanish jazz guitarists José Luís Gámez and Dani Pérez. Thankfully, my excitement was not short lived.

One just has to listen to the first track “Le Oros”, a bouncy number in 6/8, to get a sense of each musician’s abilities and musical interests. Gámez plays it closer to the mainstream jazz vest. His very melodic improvisations and chordal accompaniment are bathed in a warm, smooth, silky tone that reflects a healthy listening to Joe Pass, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie and others from the same fabric. He is quite adept at fingerboard mastery as demonstrated by the speed and agility he frequently calls upon to help him work it through the changes.

Pérez on the other hand, appears to come from the Bill Frisell, Allan Holdsworth, and John Scofield school of playing. Wide intervals, volume swells, quick-fingered legato phrasing, and a bright, sometimes overdriven tone that works well against Gámez’s darker timbre. There subtle guitar “dueling” at the end of “Le Oros” shows how complimentary having two guitarists with very different styles can be. Also, check out the interesting and fun “Hot House/What’s This Thing Called Love” (T. Dameron/C. Porter) where they play both the heads of those two classic tunes together at the same time. Very cool.

As you can probably imagine, there is some really great tunes from both guitarists on “String Captives”, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few that I found to be extremely captivating. “Sister, I Miss You”, composed by Gámez, is a wonderfully moody and sensitive ballad that features Gámez’s very tasteful and melodic ideas against the changes. Pérez’s comping with lingering volume swells is very effective in conveying the feel and sentiment of the song.

Another ballad that needs to be mentioned is “Jo See”, a Pérez tune that is strikingly reminiscent of the classic Miles Davis/Bill Evans tune “Blue In Green”. Nonetheless, it is a delicate composition that features a rich sounding steel string that adds to the character of the tune quite nicely. I am not sure who does the solo on this tune as it is not credited on the CD but it is nicely played.

Gámez and Pérez get to show off their chops on the tunes “Triste, pero no” a Tango written by Gámez, and the Herbie Hancock tune “The Eye of the Hurricane”. Needless to say there is lots of tasty guitar stuff going on and definitely worth checking out.

Special mention must be made to the other two members on the CD. Bassist Rai Ferrer who gets to keep the band grounded and has an especially tasteful solo on the “Hot House/What’s This Thing Called Love” tune and drummer Jo Krause who displays some impressive chops throughout the whole CD. Solid playing and support from both these players just adds to the pleasure of listening to this CD.

And the pleasure was all mine as I found “String Captives” to be a wonderful CD of predominantly original jazz guitar music featuring two very prolific yet distinct voices. José Luís Gámez’s straight ahead jazz feel alongside Dani Pérez’s more modern day fusion fare have definitely created an enjoyable combination that keeps the music flowing and the improvisations interesting. I truly recommend this CD to fans of jazz guitar and great music in general and I look forward to hearing more from these two.

Go to www.joseluisgamez.com to purchase "String Captives" or to see what else José Luís Gámez has to offer.

Lyle Robinson