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I was thinking about how I feel when I hear South American, Andean-styled music. Always like a cool breeze, like wind whistling through the trees, it lifts my spirits. I was thinking this, certainly, just before I pressed play on Afroandina Christmas, the great new holiday distraction from Jose Luís Madueño y Ricardo Silva. I am unfamiliar with many (most!) of the instruments used to create its unique sound, but a close reading of the liner notes tells how Madueño y Silva used a variety of musicians, instruments and arrangements to brew up this Andean wind.

In addition to some of the better-known holiday classics done Incan-style with quenas and zampoñas, the appearance of several new tunes ups the stakes here. There's a flamenco new age hummer--El Burrito Sabanero--that'll make you all shivery if you're a person who's into that kind of ear candy--if you know what I'm talking about, you are--a piece filled with güiros, bongós, charango drums, and lots of carefree guitar strumming. Stunning when quickly followed up by a zampoña-wall-of-sound Little Drummer Boy. Very dramatic, very well-orchestrated, very well-executed. Jiminy Christmas, you're going to want to listen to this over and over again.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2005)

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From the liner notes:

Musicians:
Ruth Huamani: Guitar (1,2,3,4) Edgar Espinoza: 1st quena, zampoñas (panpipes), moceño, quenacho, claps (1,7,9,11,12)
Edgar Huamán (1,9,11,12)
María Elena Pacheco: violin (1,4,7,10)
Rubén Concha: charango, mandolin, zampoña (1,4,7,9)
Enderson Herencia: bass
Marco Oliveros: cymbals, bells, snare drum
Ricardo Silva: claps, wankara drum, quena, zampoñas, rhythmic guitar, chakchas
Jose Luís Madueño: wancara drum, shakers, caxixis, palo de Buvia (rainstick), zampoña, keyboards, cajón, bombo legüero, shakers, claps
Quito Linares: acoustic guitar (2,5,8,9,10)
Chano Díaz Limaco: charango (2,5,8,9,12)
Mario Agüeno: güiro, bongós (2,8)
Hugo Oscco: quena, zampoñas (3,5,8,11)
Juan Luis Pereyra: mandolin, charango, claps (4,11)
Arturo Valdez: mandolin (6)
Gustavo Chávez: programmed sequences (6)
Pitín Sánzhez: cajón (8)
Jocho Velásquez: guitar (11)
Mariano Liy: bass, congas (11)

Executive Producer: Glen Barclay
Produced by Jose Luís Madueño y Ricardo Silva
Recorded by: Gustavo Chávez at Criterio (Lima, Perú, June and September, 2003)
Additional Recordings By: Rafael Abulú and Jan Alvarez-Guerra at Mega Studios (Lima, Perú. October 2003)
Mixed by: Jan Alvarez-Guerra, Jose Luís Madueño y Ricardo Silva at Mega Studios (Lima, Perú. October 2003)
Mastered by: Jan Alvarez-Guerra at Mega Studios (Lima, Perú. October 2003)
Illustrations: Miguel Molina
Layout and design: Elaine Langille

Jose Luís Madueño y Ricardo Silva

Afroandina Christmas

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Track List