(artículo) Guitarist infuses flamenco for distinct style

NOUVEAU SOUND

By Walter Tunis

CONTRIBUTING MUSIC CRITIC

Even before he says hello, orchestration soars through the phone line as Ottmar Liebert commences conversation.

"Hold on. Let me turn Brahms down a bit."

Given that almost every corner of his life has been colored by music, it seems only natural the guitarist who has redefined flamenco music for contemporary audiences would be surrounded by sound during a morning chat from his Santa Fe, N.M., home.

A German native born into a family of rich cultural diversity (a Hungarian mother and a Chinese-German father), he began playing guitar at age 11 and soon embarked on performances throughout Europe and Asia. Initially, he took stabs at rock 'n' roll and jazz-funk. But after settling in Santa Fe, he set blueprints in motion for an ensemble called Luna Negra. With it came the gypsy strains of flamenco dressed in contemporary touches of percussion, bass and orchestration.

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