OTTMAR LIEBERT

Born: Cologne, Germany, 1963

Genre: New Age, Flamenco Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Nouveau Flamenco (1990)

Hit songs since 1990: "Santa Fe," "Rosa Negra," "Barcelona Nights"

Born to a Chinese-German father and a Hungarian mother, Ottmar Liebert was exposed to a wide variety of music while growing up. Early on, he learned to play guitar, a gift from his father, and his love of the instrument led to studies in classical guitar at Germany's Rheinische Musikhockschule. At age eighteen, he began to travel through Russia and Asia, studying traditional music of the region.

While he was fascinated with the indigenous rhythms he was discovering, including flamenco, he was eventually disappointed to find very few outlets for this music. In Germany, and later in Boston, Massachusetts, where he moved, Liebert played guitar in a few jazz/funk bands. When the last of these bands broke up in 1985, Liebert moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Perhaps it was the move away from the concentrated music industry where the pressure to "make it" was high, or the comfort in the more laid-back ambience of New Mexico, but Liebert found himself relaxed in Santa Fe where the artistic community was thriving. Playing in restaurants, Liebert developed a style that incorporated the influences he ran across in Europe and Asia. By 1988 he formed his band, Luna Negra. It was here that Liebert began to hone his fusion of rock, pop, folk, and flamenco, a hybrid that eventually wound up on his self-released debut Marita: Shadows and Storms (1988). Liebert had originally teamed up with local artist Frank Howell, producing the compact discs (CDs) that would be distributed along with Howell's drawings. Copies of the CD found their way to Los Angeles smooth jazz station KTWV (the Wave) in 1989. Several CD songs were added to the playlist and after label reps from Higher Octave took note, they signed Liebert, and eventually re-released the CD as Nouveau Flamenco (1990).

Liebert's sonic signature features the mixture of synthesizer and electric bass around the basic flamenco form. Alternately sultry and ambient, the CD attracted new fans to flamenco, but the CD also draws on influences from R&B and jazz to Asia and the Middle East. Tracks like "Barcelona Nights" and "Santa Fe" mix spicy grooves with lush New Agey synthesizer washes.

Liebert further sharpens his vision on subsequent albums. Solo Para Ti (1992) features contributions by rock guitarist Carlos Santana. Liebert expands his palette with soul and blues standards on The Hours between Night and Day (1993). Impressive is his new reading on "Ten Piedad de Mi," a Spanish cover of soulmaster Marvin Gaye's classic "Mercy Mercy Me."

Electronic fans found plenty to enjoy on Liebert's Euphoria (1995). Although essentially remixes of material from The Hours between Night and Day, the album features mix masters Steve Hillage and Aki Nawaz of England. Little Wing (2001) features Liebert tackling classic rock by interpreting Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir," Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing," and the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." Cynics may carp that Liebert's recent records contain too many remixes, compilations, or covers with little original material. But in the larger picture, Liebert, through his masterful compositions and virtuosity, helped bring flamenco and his various fusions to a wider audience.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Nouveau Flamenco (Higher Octave, 1990); The Hours between Night and Day (Epic, 1993); Euphoria (Epic, 1995); Opium (Epic, 1996); Little Wing (Epic, 2001).

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