DePedro's Self-Titled Album

Thursday October 15, 2009

SPANISH MEETS SOUTHWESTERN

I can’t say I have a wide-ranging knowledge of Spanish music, but I know what I like. And I love the new, self-titled album by DePedro.

Some backstory: While the new album by Jairo Zavala (he records under the name DePedro) may be his first to get wide distribution in the United States—it’s the inaugural release on EMI’s new National Geographic imprint, Nat Geo*—Zavala has been a known entity in his native Spain for the last 20 years via his recordings with the bands *Amparanoia, Vacazul and Los Coronas.

When our own Calexico began covering “Don’t Leave Me Now,” a song co-written by Zavala and originally recorded by Amparanoia, a friendship was struck. Zavala eventually visited Tucson to collaborate with Calexico on the album, which was recorded at Wavelab Studio. The disc features performances by Calexicans Joey Burns (upright bass, cello, marimba, piano and about a half-dozen other instruments), John Convertino (drums) and Jacob Valenzuela (trumpet), as well as help from Marco Rosano (Crawdaddy-O, Rosano Bros. Virtual Quartet) on sax, and harmonica from Craig Schumacher, who also mixed the album. (Zavala and Burns co-produced it.)

The album demonstrates the fine-guitar playing of Zavala, but lest you get the idea that this is just some flamenco album (no offense, flamenco lovers), be assured the disc contains flashes of genres from all over the map. Zavala’s playing is decidedly Spanish in flavor, but anyone with a couple of Calexico albums in their collection will certainly recognize the band’s contributions.

The album starts off with the mellow, pretty stuff: “Como el Viento” is a romantic and sultry love song (or at least it sounds like it: Like all of the songs on the album, save 1 1/2, it is sung in Spanish) that is clearly influenced by Brazilian rhythms, while a reworked version of “Don’t Leave Me Now,” the song Calexico covered and whose chorus is sung in English (“Don’t leave me now, I’m coming to you”), is the sexiest damn song I’ve heard in a while. It is absolutely gorgeous, with a fantastic arrangement that flawlessly weaves together tenor and baritone sax, trumpet and trombone with Zavala’s guitar and the supple rhythm section of Burns and Convertino. (Convertino’s drumming is so distinct as to be instantly recognizable.) And Zavala possesses a voice that is warm and smooth, with just enough grit surfacing at the right times.

Chilla que Tiemble		Depedro
Como El Viento	4:00	Depedro

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Depedro - CNN
Comanche
Two Parts in One (Live w/Calexico)
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Como El Viento

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