Insight
A series in which musicians give us insight into the background of one of their recordings
Alex Wilson and Omar Ríos Meléndez
The Art Of Deep Connection
Photo credit: Art Lewy Photography
A piano. An acoustic guitar. Two virtuosos. Ten instrumentals. The Art of Deep Connection is the debut album from the acoustic duo of acclaimed pianist, producer and composer, Alex Wilson, and the London-based Nicaraguan master guitarist and composer, Omar Ríos Meléndez.
"Our music encourages people to be open about their emotions," says the Zurich-based Wilson, a Swiss/British national and Latin jazz piano legend whose career includes nine studio releases and production credits for over 25 recordings."We are two men who are sitting down and connecting deeply in the studio and onstage, and having a dialogue with the listener, the audience, in the process. These are crazy, overwhelming times. This album is our ‘grano de arena’, our little grain of sand, to help counter that. To try and say, 'Let's have some open and honest communication with each other in music and beyond.'”
"I wanted to keep to the originals but include arrangements that allow for improvisation and take you to another mood'," says thirty-something Ríos Meléndez, 23 years Wilson's junior, who has toured the world and - since arriving in the UK six years ago - released two studio albums under his own name. "I love the way jazz and flamenco allow for new interpretations, and that we can mix them with the 6/8 rhythms of Nicaraguan music, of son nica," he says, referencing the musical genre often associated with the marimba, the so-called 'African piano', and Nicaragua's national instrument.
The duo's version of Luis Enrique's Yo No Sé Mañana - a salsa classic produced by revered American pianist/arranger Sergio George - finds the smash hit slowed down and sprinkled with jewel-like solos."Sergio George is one of my heroes," says Wilson. "The way he plays and thinks about music and music production has been so formative. I fit like a glove into the first bar or two of the original before we branch off with our own extended arrangement."
Ríos Meléndez's dynamic 'Nomad's Prayer (Part 1)' and 'Nomad's Prayer (Part 2)' is music as storytelling, reflecting a newcomer's attempts to establish himself in London - a city that can be inhospitable to foreign arrivals. The composition's cinematic narrative takes in the frustration of a man trying to find shelter, the false hopes dangled, joy snatched and new beginnings budding.
"People have been moved to tears when we've played this live," says Wilson. "It conveys what those who aren't fortunate to have been born in a stable country go through, and the deep journey Omar has experienced since leaving Nicaragua."
Here is Nomad's Prayer Part 1:
The Art of Deep Connection was recorded over three days in a room mic-ed to highlight the natural acoustics. Wilson had originally wanted to record a homage to Nicaragua, diving deep into the culture in ways akin to Mali Latino, his seminal 2010 album with the Malian kora player Madou Sidiki Diabaté. But Ríos Meléndez - as a Londoner - wanted to go broader. "I miss my country and my family, of course," he says. "It is my dream that by connecting the music of Nicaragua with other styles it feels more universal and becomes better known worldwide." The album's title came first, so that each tune had to speak to its sentiment. The title track, The Art Of Deep Connection, is described as: 'A painterly meditation that finds the duo adding layers, expanding harmonically, taking listeners on a journey - to themselves, and to each other.'
Alex wrote the tune 'Lanzaté' with Ríos Meléndez in mind. "'Lanzaté' means 'grab life'," he says. "I gain so much inspiration from Omar's virtuosity and energy. He's at that stage of life when your instrument matters more than anything, which I remember so well, and which reminds me of the work I did with Rodrigo and Gabriela. There's continuity here."
'William's Theme' is a cover of the popular bolero 'El Tema de William' written by guitarist William Malespin and recorded in the '70s by the mighty Nicaraguan jazz rock band Los Rockets. "The melody is beautiful," says Ríos Meléndez. "I'd played it with a trio on guitar, bass, bongo and cajón, keeping the bolero and adding Cuban-style son cubano. I showed Alex this version, and we went for it."
Other tracks are available on YouTube and details and mp3 samples of the album The Art Of Deep Connection are available here.
Readers may know the song Bésame Mucho, played as a solo on the album by Alex Wilson, and we can listen to it here:
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