Alta Vista By David Correa

Alta Vista

By

David Correa

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Summer is now in full flow here in the Mediterranean, and this new album by guitarist David Correa entitled Alta Vista is going to be just perfect for the occasion, such fluent and warming Latin styled guitar now reverberates around my sun kissed studio, with a sense of unadulterated bliss.

The title track starts our journey with a fast paced and lively musical ethic, one that sets the scene perfectly. Alta Vista is a fine example of perfect Latin styled fluency, performed with some very delightful dynamics and rhythms, and of course the ideal place to start our voyage through music.

As a guitarist myself I truly enjoyed this next piece called Esplanade, it has a certain emotive quality and passion built into the performance that was so enticing. The presentation by Correa was sublime, smooth and colourful, and the added use of percussion along with the build and progression of the piece was crafted to perfection.

As we move ever onward onto this sunny beach of Latin music, we come across a wonderfully tranquil yet rhythmic offering entitled Angel's Landing. This brought back some fine memories of other musical friends like Incendio or Mark Barnwell.

Let the dance begin; now if memory serves me right, I believe that Tamarindo is a town in Costa Rica, and while I have never been to this country, the music I am engaged with currently is a good sales pitch for me to take that up one day, when safe air travel becomes possible again, but until then I am more than happy to enjoy this sublime and full flowing performance by the artist.

We now move to a track called Eau Rouge, this one announces our arrival at the half way juncture of the album. The smooth and serene tones that drift from my music player are idyllic, as I listen to Correa play, I watch my palm trees sway and light fluffy clouds drift into a back drop of blue. Enjoy also the rarity of an electric guitar on this piece, one that creates a symbiotic partnership with the overall acoustic nature of the piece.

Correcaminos is one of those styled compositions that I loved to try and play to my neighbours during our lockdown, if I could have only been as half as good as Correa on this. This is a wonderfully happy performance and one that is as bright and cheer filled as a summer’s day itself.

It is time for a dedication now as we arrive at the arrangement entitled Leo's Song. This is once more a fine example of the artist fluency and skill set. Apart from the performance, the song has a wonderful compositional structure, and comes across as a quite emotional song in parts as well.

We are now swimming in the deeper waters of the album, and while we do so we find ourselves greeted by a new composition called Revuelto.  Rhythmic and passion filled certainly, but there is also an extra depth here that is tantalising, this combined with the percussive backdrop and the delicate bass, all of which goes into making and creating a truly crafted song.

Well that penultimate track off the album is now upon us and called Vuelo Del Condor. There is a delightful lightness of performance here that is so appealing, the energy created through this offering is bright and sun kissed. It is one of those pieces that you simply just have to press replay on multiple times, the nuances and dynamics on guitar here by the artist are both clever, inventive and very classy indeed.

Our last track and before we hide from the heat of the day, let’s hit the ocean and enjoy Beach Cities. I’m guessing Limassol here in Cyprus maybe as close you can get to one here, but the beaches are both clean warm and inviting, much like this final song of the album, as David Correa leaves us with a happy feeling and a track that moves the body to the tempo one more time, a splendid way to finish the release indeed.

Alta Vista by David Correa is an album of magical acoustic guitar; the performances contained within are powerful, warm and passionate. Here is a release it will be almost impossible for you to keep still too whilst listening. Alta Vista by David Correa is a Latin based album that will perhaps evoke many happy memories of places visited and long summer nights had, and is that perfect musical sketchbook to carry with you on your future journeys perhaps, or maybe just sitting by the pool, whatever, here is an album that is as enticing as an ice cream is on a warm August afternoon and as such thoroughly recommended.