“A hidden treasure of the Flamenco world in the Americas…superb musicianship.” –Flamenco Connection
When you book an international jazz festival it’s easy to miss outstanding talent in your own backyard, the very place I found the amazing Flamenco guitarist, Val Ramos, at a local concert. There I also realized for the first time that Rhumba Flamenco was in fact jazz and fit our drive to present Latin jazz in its many forms, and this one I had overlooked. Established in 1994, The Val Ramos Flamenco Ensemble is one of the best Flamenco fusion groups in the United States.
Hailed as “the best of classical Flamenco brought to modern standards” (Rootsworld.com) and “simply brilliant” (Flamenco Buzz.com), this group represents the best of contemporary Flamenco music and song. The Val Ramos Flamenco Ensemble has released three albums of original Flamenco music, all on the PIRAM Records label. The ensemble has been featured in major international music festivals including the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, the Regattabar Spring Jazz Festival, and the Guitar Under the Stars Festival. The ensemble has performed at Yale, Brown, UConn, University of Hartford, and Trinity College. In July 2005, they toured Spain under the auspices of the United States Embassy in Spain and performed in Madrid and Salamanca. Most recently, the ensemble performed at the Levitt Pavilion Summer Concert Series in Westport, CT, at the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford, at the University of Hartford’s Hoffman Auditorium, and at the Summerwind Summer Concert Series in Windsor Locks, to name a few.
The group has been featured on National Public Radio and Radio Nacional Española, in interviews on the radio shows All Things Considered, The Faith Middletown Show, and La hora de America. The group’s music is featured in several documentary films including “Puerto Rican Passages” (Connecticut Public Television) and “Nuyoricans” (WNET-Thirteen/PBS).
This is The Val Ramos Flamenco Ensemble’s first appearance on the Litchfield Jazz Festival. It features Val Ramos, lead Flamenco guitar, Jose R. Ramos, Flamenco guitar, Kris Jensen, flute, Carlos Hernandez Chavez, bass, Ashley Jones violin and Matt Moadel, percussion.
–VM
