js Jason McGuire is a native Texan who, over the years, has built a strong international following for his fiery flamenco guitar style. In the past, Jason has usually worked for other artists and dance companies, but with his new group, Terceto Kali, McGuire shows he is ready to step forward as a band leader and composer of considerable skill. Although rooted in flamenco, Terceto Kali’s music features so many diverse influences that it could easily be considered a new genre of flamenco-fusion. Although most of us are used to hearing flamenco performed with guitar and handclaps, McGuire builds more of a jazz combo type effect by adding Paul Martin Sounder on bass and Maruion Aldana on drums. This trio’s sound is more similar to modern post bop and Latin fusion than what we would normally expect from a flamenco artist.

Along with the complex and nuanced rhythms of flamenco, McGuire and his group pull from a variety of other rhythms based in Latin America and the US. “Mira Mira” finds the rhythm section hitting a rumba groove while McGuire floats his improvised melodies on top. On “Tico Paco”, McGuire pays tribute to his idol, Paco de Lucia, with a traditional alegrias, which is then transformed with elements of gospel and RnB. “Romance” is a delicately performed melodic ballad with hints of modern folk and neo-soul. On closing cut. “Motivation”, Jason and his group play a free improv avant-garde form of flamenco, possibly a first, and it works surprisingly well.

Jason is considered one of the top flamenco guitarists today, and his rapid and precise technique will not disappoint anyone, but this is flamenco music for a brand new era. McGuire has built an imaginative musical world on Terceto Kali, a world where flamenco is being taken places that it has never gone to before.