Kronos Quartet - Nuevo - CD

quot;Nuevoquot; is something of a near-hallucinatory journey in sound. A bawdy song from Mazatlan, a romantic standard of the 60's, quot;space-age bachelor pad musicquot; of Esquivel, foot-stomping party music, a percussion-laden concert work, a prime-time Mexican TV theme, a mariachi tune, and an extraordinary five-part sonic portrait of contemporary Mexico by Cafe Tacuba are only some of the ingredients in a kaleidoscopic, mesmerizing melange of music spanning some 100 years. Beginning with their breakthrough project quot;Pieces of Africaquot; in 1991, some of the most compelling recordings in the Kronos discography have resulted from their collaborative explorations of musical programs drawn from a particular country or region of the world. With quot;Nuevoquot; - a project based entirely around Mexican composers, musical traditions, and influences - they have delivered one of their most striking group odysseys to date. Produced by Gustavo Santaolalla, both an authority of Latin American art music as well as the most in-demand producer of rock en espanol, the album also features a host of great artists from both the concert hall as well as the streets of Mexico.