Paco de Lucia - Luzia (1998)

Though he's recognized as flamenco's premier guitarist--with few contenders save for Tomatito, Pepe Habichuela, and Manolo Sanlúcar--Paco de Lucía has met with decades of controversy for his hybridization of the form with bossa, salsa, and jazz; for influencing flamenco-rock renegades like Ketama and Pata Negra; and for his legendary, cultivated arrogance. Albums like Luzia, named for his late mother, restore the balance: true flamenco puro of the highest order, it's a brooding reinvention from within, particularly in its complex harmonies and polyrhythms, forged around time-honored forms like bulerías and alegrías. The bustling bulería "El Chorruelo" is simply blood-boiling, a surging virtuosity at work over rapid key shifts and melodic firestorms. Written for his late collaborator--bad-boy singer Camarón de la Isla--the closing solo "Camarón" is meditative, joyous, forlorn, incensed, and sublime; in short, the real deal. A startlingly good set from a true master. --James Rotondi