La calle del aire - Estrella Morente

Description

'Calle del aire' shows, once again, that the quality of the voice of Estrella Morent is totally out of question. Her maturity and sensibility make this new flamenco record a unique piece that only and extraordinary cantaor can match. Having waited for so long for her debut, it comes as a surprise the release of two albums in one year. Calle del Aire is a an album with a Christmas flair made up of eleven popular songs and a 'present' that have been adapted by Estrella's father and musical mentor, legendary singer Enrique Morente.
'Calle del Aire' is far more than a mere Christmas carol album, since it has a lot of flamenco with two secret tricks: the sweet and delicate voice of Estrella and the unmistakable Morente seal. The first track has Chano Dominguez on the piano and belongs to some themes that Enrique Morente composed for Yerma, a famous García Lorca play. It was Laura García Lorca, a poet's niece, who introduced the Morentes to this carols, and Estrella performs it with sweetness, flirting with the cante. The album also includes the song “Los cuatro muleros”, a popular tune that Lorca unearthed which rises to new heights with Estrella's rendition.
There are also the Albaicín party cantes like the eponymous "Calle del Aire" y "Salve gitana del Sacromonte". There are two signals of the Jerezans tendencies of this woman from Granada: the bulería "Tabanco" and "Bulería por soleá".  There is a version Jonda of "Silent Night" (Noche de Paz), which acts like a warning in this war times we're living through. The lyrics of this song have been modified by Enrique Morente, and José Manuel Cañizares is to be found on the flamenco guitar accompanying the Cantaora. The album has traditional song that are normally heard while tasting aniseed drinks, like the Castillian tonada 'Que quieres que te traiga, que voy a Burgos' and 'Caracol', the latter of which was sung by Encarna, Estrella's grandma. The Sefardí tune 'Tangos del Chavico', the album's first single, has a contagious rhthm and is sung by the Morente family on their Christmas gatherings.
The album rounds up with 'Regalo de Navidad' (Christmas present), called so because it's considered it was a present from Maestro Sabicas to Estrella when she was only seven years old, and was already a promising star. Sabicas sang a taranta to the girl and she replied singing another one. Journalist José Manuel Gamboa captured that moment on tape so that we can still enjoy it.