Although soft in timbre, flamenco has an urgent rhythm to it, which lies just under the surface only to rear its head often when least expected.

It is this rhythm that simmers when Jorge Pardo plays the flute, accompanied by haunting harmonies from guitarist Juan Diego and a muted beat from percussionist El Chispa.

Jorge Pardo walks a thin line. His playing is a convergence of two distinct styles of music: Spanish flamenco and American jazz. As a pioneer fusion musician who is constantly blending the two together, Pardo is an icon for many jazz flute and sax players.

A biography of Pardo describes him as 'a dissenter in the ranks of flamenco,' and he agrees. "You have to be a rebel," he says, "An artist has to take tradition and push it further than ever before."

When Pardo started out in flamenco, the guitar was the star and the be-all-and-end-all. He added flute and saxophone, two instruments never used before in the genre. "I chose to play the flute because there were other flamenco guitarists who were better than me, and the sax because all my musical heroes play that instrument," he says. Putting the flute at the centre brought a new dimension to flamenco.

He soon caught the attention of Paco de Lucia and played with his sextet for several years. Perfecting and maturing his sound, he also played alongside Chick Corea and was part of La Leyenda del Tiempo, a record legendary in flamenco music.

long the way, Jorge picked up different styles. As a jazz enthusiast, he started to blend together the two genres, throwing his saxophone and flute into the mix. "Music itself is fusion," says Pardo. "Flamenco comes from Spanish, Gypsy and Jewish traditions, in the same way that jazz has different roots in America."

From the whirlpool of Pardo's influences emerged one of the biggest flamenco jazz records ever made: Vientos Flamencos.

Now Vientos Flamencos is in Nepal for the very first time. Jorge Pardo and his band Vientos Flamencos (Juan Diego on guitar and El Chispa on percussion) are here on special request from the European Commission and Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory's Mariano Abello. Abello is a self-confessed fan, gushing, "Jorge is one of my musical heroes."

Jorge seems happy to be in Nepal, and is enchanted by the Nepali bansuri. As a flautist, he says the tuning and tone of the bansuri are especially intriguing.

As we Nepalis have only just been introduced to jazz, are we ready for flamenco? Says Jorge: "Music has no frontiers. If it is well done, has rhythm and has heart, it doesn't matter what country it comes from or which place it is, people will love it."

Pranaya SJB Rana

Vientos Flamenco will be performing at the Hyatt Regency on Sunday, 11 May at 7.30PM. The event is managed by Infinity International and the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory and marks the opening of the Hyatt Jazz Club. Tickets are Rs 2,000 and available at Chez Caroline, Hotel Ambassador, Summit Hotel, KJC and the
Hyatt Regency.