Band Site: www.cafekhytaro.com

I was introduced to the music of Jeremy Garcia a few years ago when I reviewed his release with Rosendo Reyna, "Baile del Sol". I was impressed with the musicianship and was definitely looking forward towards hearing some new material by them. As luck would have it, Jeremy Garcia contacted me a few weeks ago and wanted me to review his new CD, "Distancia", with a new band called Cafe Khytaro, where he is the sole composer and arranger. Cafe Khytaro consists of Jeremy Garcia on guitar and percussion, Chris Howard (cajon, bongos, congos, brazilian drums and percussion), Richard Saldivar (bass, keyboard, trumpets and percussion), Alex Serrano (drum set), La Paloma (vocals), La Tempestad and Maria del Espadin (palmas).
This is definitely a guitar-oriented album, with the flamenco guitar taking center stage, with vocals playing a very sparse role on "La Luvia". Jeremy makes no excuses for this as he is well suited for the role of the flamenco virtuoso who totally rips through 9 tracks of flawless perfection. "Rips" maybe is not the proper word here as the man has lots of texture, nuance and feel to his playing. I can probably best describe it as a fiery, passionate and virtuoso flamenco performance. The texture provided by the other instruments enhances the compositions and provides a multifaceted bed to Jeremy's wonderful guitar playing. It is really hard to pick what is the best song on this CD. I personally liked the closing track, "Malaguena de Rosita" which probably illustrates Jeremy's talent the best and provides contrasting flamenco elements and some wonderful buildups. This is one CD definitely worth getting - a world class flamenco performance!

Reviewed by A. Dorian