Madrid's award-winning
Ketama trio, featuring brothers
Antonio and Juan Miguel Carmona and cousin
Juan Carmona, is one of the leading groups of the "new flamenco" movement. Since releasing their self-titled debut album in 1985, the trio have directed the evolution of flamenco as a world-savvy music. Their 2002 album
Dame la Mano, went so far as to include hip-hop and house music. That hybrid approach has won detractors as well as fans, but
Ketama helped introduce flamenco to an entirely new audience of young music listeners. Their longevity has silenced most of their naysayers. In addition to their own albums, which fuse flamenco with salsa, Brazilian, reggae, pop, funk, jazz, and hip-hop influences,
Ketama has collaborated on two albums -- Songhai and Songhai 2 in 1988 and 1994 respectively -- with Malian multi-instrumentalist
Toumani Diabate. Their 2000 album
Toma Ketama! earned the band a Latin Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. They split in 2004.
The three members of
Ketama represent the fourth generation of a musical family that can be traced back to guitarist Ico Habichuela. The trio's name recalls the chicken yard they rehearsed in, while they gave nightly performances as house band of Canestra Tabiao. During their tenure at the club, they shared stages with
Paco de Lucia,
Enrique Morente, and
Camarón De La Isla. After building their reputation with their virtuosic playing and vocal harmonies, they went on to play with
Celia Cruz,
Paquito D'Rivera,
Arturo Sandoval, and
Michel Camilo.
Ketama secured their fame after opening for
Prince and
the Rolling Stones. The
Carmona brothers also opened several shows for
Frank Sinatra.
The Songhai project, which took its name from an African kingdom that was invaded by Spanish troops in the 16th century, was formulated by
Joe Boyd, producer of albums by
Pink Floyd,
Fairport Convention,
R.E.M., and
the Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices. Their first album, released in 1988, united
Ketama and
Diabate, who played a 21-stringed kora, with British double bassist
Danny Thompson and background vocalists
Djanka Diabate and
Diaw Kouyate. Six years later,
Ketama and
Diabate renewed their collaboration to record a follow-up album, Songhai 2, with a much larger band. In addition to flamenco singer
Jose Soto, a founding member of
Ketama who had left to pursue a solo career, the album featured Malian balafon player
Kélétigui Diabaté, Malian ngoni player
Basekou Kouyate, double bassist
Javier Colina of
La Barberia del Sur, violinist
Bernardo Parrilla of Joaquin Cortes' group, and flamenco-rhumba vocalist Aurora.
Ketama was featured in Carlos Saura's film Flamencos. Their 2002 offering,
Dame La Mano, showcased the group fusing bossa nova, soft fusion, and flamenco. ~ Craig Harris