Ketama

   
Artist: Ketama

   Genre(s): 
Other
   

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Discography:


   
 De Aqui A Ketama

   Year:    
Tracks: 12

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A trio, featuring brothers Antonio and Juan Miguel Carmona and their cousin, Juan Carmona, Ketama is one of the leading groups of the "newfangled flamenco" movement. Since cathartic their self-titled debut album in 1985, the trio has directed the phylogenesis of flamenco as a world-savvy medicine. In addition to their have albums, which fuse flamenco with salsa, Brazilian, reggae, pop, funk, jazz, and hip-hop influences, Ketama has collaborated on two albums -- Songhai and Songhai 2 -- with Malian multi-instrumentalist Toumani Diabate. Describing Ketama's sound, Folk Roots wrote, "harmonies consummate....melodies dainty....tempo and timing deeply cheering....arrival points of the brain/body most music snoozes past tense."


The trine members of Ketama act the fourth generation of a musical family that traces back to guitarist Ico Habichuela. The trio's name recalls when they rehearsed in a chicken curtilage for nightly performances as house-band of Canestra Tabiao. During their tenure at the social club, they shared stages with Paco de Lucia, Enrique Morente and Cameron De La Isla. After building their repute with their virtuosic playing and vocal harmonies, they went on to recreate with Celia Cruz, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandaval, and Michel Camilo. Ketama secured their fame as opening act for Prince and the Rolling Stones. The Cameron brothers as well opened several shows for Frank Sinatra.


The Songhai project, which took its name from an African kingdom that had been invaded by Spanish military personnel in the 16th century, was formulated by Joe Boyd, producer of albums by Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, REM, and the Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices. The first record album, released in 1988, joined Ketama and Diabate, world Health Organization played a 21-stringed kora, with British double bassist Danny Thompson and background vocalists Djanka Diabate and Diaw Kouyate. Six long time later, Ketama and Diabate renewed their coaction to record a followup record album, Songhai 2, with a much larger band. In addition to flamenco isaac M. Singer Jose Soto, a initiation member of Ketama world Health Organization had left to pursue a solo vocation, the album featured Malian balafon musician Keletegui Diabate, Malian ngoni musician Basekou Kouyate, double bassist Javier Colina of La Barberia Del Sur, violinist Bernardo Parrilla of Joaquin Cortes' Group, and flamenco-rhumba vocalizer Aurora.


Ketama was featured in Carlos Saura's film Flamencos.