Search - Ben Tavera King :: Coyote Moon

Southwest soundscapes

Enrique Torres | San Diegotitlan, Califas | 11/19/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This disc is a nice synthesis of styles incorporating jazzy elements to Hispanic guitar licks with a dose of Native American sensibilities for a mellow southwest flair. For example, "Maidens of The Flute Clan" sounds like some type of background music for a ritualistic dance in the desrt of Arizona. "El Kabong's Fiesta" sounds just as it's titles implies; like it is music from someone's family party. You would expect to hear some whistling, cat calls or a voice singing in Spanish but instead it is a solo by sax that leads into the guitar rips for a surprisingly interesting alternative. "Prickly Lullaby"is a stripped down song featuring mostly soft guitar work to light percussion that is soothing and makes you strain your ear to hear the melodies but what you hear is well worth it. This is a pure instrumental CD that has a down home kind off feeling. BTK's fretless classical nylon string guitar sings beautiful melodies. The addition of Zeta Violin Synthesizer does not detract from the accoustic sound but rather gives it another dimension with a haunting melody. Somehow this music sounds like the type of music you might hear entering a gift shop in Santa Fe , New Mexcio as the smell of incense wafting through the air amidst the Native American arts. The CD has a minimilist feeling to it even thought there are various instruments featured. It is a very relaxing bit of music that rarely excites with something stunning but if you listen carefully and close your eyes you just might hear the howl of the coyote in the siloutte of a full moon in the desert. If you like this CD you also might like a previous release from 1987 entitled " Desert Dreams" by the same artist. Recommended for fans of music reflective of the Southwest. A pleasurable listening experience rated 3.5 with a running time of 49:02."