For the last five years, guitarist Ottmar Liebert has been regurgitating his career: variously re-recording, remixing, and remastering his older songs. Initially, La Semana, which translates as "The Week," sounds like a stylistic return to that early sound. No electronics, orchestras, or smooth jazz combos--only Liebert on multi-tracked guitar with bass, and percussion, just like on Nouveau Flamenco. Songs like "Caroussel" and "La Luna" feature Liebert's upbeat mix of deft, precisely picked melody and flamenco groove. But other tracks, notably "Cocteau," recall the quieter moods of The Hours Between Night & Day. As it moves along, La Semana gets trippy at the edges with snarly electric guitar textures on "Cave in My Heart" and trumpet bleats and backward ambiences on the expansive "Echoes of a Caress." Liebert stretches out on the asymmetric rhythms of "Longing" and creates a minimalist samba with poly-rhythmic palmas (hand-claps) and guitar strums on "Underworld." This is not only Liebert's first album of all-new materiel in five years, it's his most satisfying. --John Diliberto
