Mihrab Records Jacco Müller & Victor Channam : Viento del Desierto (NL,2009)****
This is a combination of two talents, led by Jacco Müller, flamenco guitarist and accompanied by self taught oud player Victor Ghannam. Victor Ghannam’s style therefore combined ideas from the Middle East with jazz fusion and flamenco and beyond, a style which you can hear immediately swinging a bit in between all that, developing the flamenco themes with fusing ideas from the Middle East and styles most suitable for the oud. Jacco Müller studied classical, jazz and pop guitar but finished his degree of flamenco guitar under direction of Paco Pena. The cooperation is truly rewarding and comes over as a live meeting point between two masters of a style improvising with each others ideas (the call and responses are especially flamenco guitar themes that are transformed into oud parts) or playing compositions together, with some subtle Middle eastern (Arab and Persian?) or Andalusian percussion (bells or hand clapping natures or Middle Eastern instruments mostly). The first and last track features a female singer bridging Arab and flamenco areas with her singing. Jacco Müller chose style formats (tangos, zambras, bulerias, taranta, tientos,a legrias) thart were able to cross the bridge easily. A very enjoyable performance
Previous records of Jacco Müller : flamenco guitar: “Imagines de la Laz” (1998,), compositions for flamenco guitar, cello and piano: “Laberinto” (2000), “Silueta”(2002), symphony and chamber music ensemble music on “masterworks of the new era” by Bulgarian National Orchestra (2003) and by Kiev Philharmonic (2004), cello/guitar on"Silueta" by Jacco Müller & Artur Trajko and “Orchestral music of Jacco Müller” (2009).
