Nuevo - Kronos Quartet
Nuevo (2000)
The Kronos Quartet
"Nuevo" is something of a near-hallucinatory journey in sound. A bawdy song from Mazatlan, a romantic standard of the 60's, "space-age bachelor pad music" 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 "Pieces of Africa" 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 "Nuevo" - 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.