Brand new from Swiss born guitarist Fabio Mignola comes the delicious ‘Encantado’. It is an excellent addition to a discography which includes ‘Flyin Away’, ‘Luna Rossa’ and ‘Take Me Higher’ which, at the time of its release, I described as being “a showcase for Mignola’s wide raging musical talents that extend not only to delivering eleven self penned tracks but also to engineering and producing throughout.”
Of course students of the language will know that ‘Encantado’ translates to ‘charmed’ and the chances are that listeners will be exactly that with this mellifluous collection which again finds Fabio pulling the strings on eleven of his own sumptuous compositions for a musical journey that is very much on the Latin side.
Take for example ‘Brazilian Breeze’ for which the title tells you all you need to know about this beautiful lilting number and another Latin charmer comes in the form of ‘Jacaranda’ that is as sweet as the Mexican flower from which the song takes its name. In similar vein is the beguiling ‘Satin Vibe’ and although both ‘Tucana’ and ‘Borboleta’ (butterfly) evoke the shimmering excitement of a Mardi Gras street party it is the easy grooving title cut that really steals the show.
Over the years Mignola’s guitar style has been favourably compared to the likes of Peter White and Acoustic Alchemy and it is White who comes very much to mind with the delightfully freewheeling ‘Cheer Up’. It is the perfect way to get the album started and that same vibe is evident with ‘Sweet Whim’, which is the kind of tune that might get in your head and not go away.
Elsewhere the addition of muted trumpet (plus accordion from Mignola) takes the decidedly mellow ‘Silky Lips’ to another place and Fabio again matches guitar with trumpet to superb effect for the extremely pleasing ‘Cool Move’. As he turns down the tempo for the reflective ‘Your Smiling Eyes’ it proves to be an understated gem of the kind that will charm you in the same way that this excellent CD has charmed me.
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