A galactically-charged, avant-garde jazz single by Ethan Margolis with music video that basing itself on the rebelliousness of jazz drumming and many of its top figures.

Flamenco Drums was recorded during the pandemic and features Gary Novak (drums),

Larry Grenadier (bass), Nick Mancini (vibraphone), and Manuel Valencia (palmas).

*****

Unifying Sounds demonstrates its directional depth with the release of Flamenco Drums, an avant-garde jazz single by guitarist-vocalist Ethan Margolis aka 'Emaginario'.  This is the second release on the label and as if to demonstrate the ample scope of their vision, the new music rides the energetic outskirts of contemporary Jazz in a way that is quite different from the label's first traditional release in October by pianist Chano Domínguez. With Flamenco Drums, Ethan Margolis has crafted an exciting journey that bases itself on the rebelliousness of jazz drumming and many of its top figures.  The rhythmic layout of the song draws on the influences of powerful jazz drummers like Elvin Jones, Kenny Clarke, Tony Williams, and Art Blakey.  Margolis wrote the drum part himself - bar by bar - and it was interpreted on the recording by top tier post-bop and session drummer, Gary Novak.  Novak, born in Chicago, has had a long and successful career performing and touring with artists such as Chick Corea, George Benson, and Allan Holdsworth.

Margolis says: "This song, Flamenco Drums, is something I have wanted to write and record for more than a decade.  Throughout the years I have done so much listening to the Spanish explorations in Jazz by Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Lenny Breau and John Coletrane.  I feel that Miles specifically, seemed to understand the overall of essence of Flamenco music even though he wasn't a student of the genre per se.  His ability to capture Spain's essence in recordings like Flamenco Sketches, Spanish Key, Pharaoh's Dance, and of course on Sketches of Spain has long since inspired me to go my own direction in Jazz.  Now, after my 25 year-long relationship with Andalusia, I've finally mustered up the courage to speak for myself.  Many of the Roma families who created Flamenco music have become wonderful friends of mine and over the years I have tried to assimilate new connections between Jazz and Flamenco.  In this composition, the drums lead the charge.  Everything else in the song supports what the drums are saying.  That meant the drums had to be written first - before the rest of the music - just like in Flamenco, Indian and African music where rhythmic patterns set the stage for improvisations to follow."

The resulting musical performance is bold and serves to further illustrate Margolis's skillset in 'beyond-genre, modern jazz' composition.  It is supported by a cast of some of the world's best modern jazz musicians including Larry Grenadier on upright bass, Gary Novak on drums, and Nick Mancini on vibraphone.  Roma percussionist  Manuel Valencia delivers a spirited array of flamenco palmas or 'hand claps' along with his jaleos or 'hyped cheers' to support Margolis's verses.

The accompanying official music video, shot in an Andalusian Wine Bodega with additional images at Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum, makes a powerful statement in its own right.  Much like the music, the video depicts a comparison between the old and the new, traditional vs modern.  The images of Margolis surrounded by his Roma-Gitano friends as they dance and clap to the contemporary composition feels almost like a Tarantino-esque short musical film.  The old wooden images of the winery Bodegas González-Palacios  (in the town of Lebrija, Spain) are expertly juxtaposed against the polished steel lines of the Guggenheim Museum.  He is accompanied by prominent members of Lebrija's Roma community in Manuel Vargas (dance), Fernanda Peña (rhythm), and Gonzalo Peña (rhythm).  The video is as nuanced and forward-thinking as the song itself and the editing done by LA-based filmmaker Jeff Katz is outstanding.  The images were shot by Nané S. Moreno in Lebrija and by Margolis himself in front of the Guggenheim in Bilbao.  The creation highlights powerful connections between Jazz and the rest of the world while suggesting that quality art - be it traditional or avant-garde - needs not fit into a category of any kind to make an impression.