New album by the jazz guitar duo of Rubén Reinaldo and Kely García

Occasionally, one or another of the 400 or so CDs I am annually sent for consideration in the end-of-the-year polls that I participate in especially catches my attention and warrants an assessment. Such was the case of Acuarel, which struck me as outstanding by reason of its artistic excellence, originality of concept and composition, and the virtuosic performance skills of its two musicians, Rubén Reinaldo and Kely García.

My appreciation for string jazz began in the mid-1940s when I acquired a 78RPM album of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, a combo that featured guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli. I was reminded of the seemingly telepathic interplay between these two pioneer jazz artists soon into “Manchica,” the initial track of Acuarel, the new album by the jazz guitar duo of Rubén Reinaldo and Kely García, from Galicia, Spain. The eight selections on the CD have these two masters of their instruments in uncanny improvisational collaboration as well as displaying a decided flair for composition. The session is truly a gem.

W. Royal Stokes, author of The Essential W. Royal Stokes Jazz, Blues and Beyond Reader and other books on jazz and blues and Backwards Over: A Trilogy of Novels.