Various Artists: Miles Espanol: New Sketches of Spain E-One (2011)

Belden's genius for going beyond musical and cultural borders is on full display on this invigorative and inventive, two-CD exploration of Davis' flamenco- and Spanish-tinged pieces, largely selected from his legendary collaboration with arranger Gil Evans, Sketches of Spain (Columbia, 1960), and Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959)—two towering recordings that formed a fertile crescent where the Old and New worlds met on equal terms. Comprising sixteen tracks, Belden has recruited a diverse array of over forty musicians, from ex-Davis sidemen including drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Ron Carter and über-pianist Chick Corea, to name a few, to Spanish masters like guitarist Niño Joseles and Chano Dominguez, arguably the most proficient jazz piano interpreter of flamenco genre, along with Belden's longtime band mate, trumpeter Tim Hagans. On this profound project Belden used Davis' Afro-Iberian musical tapestry to weave a rooted, yet revelatory new hybrid that sizzles under the heat of the Andalusia sun, and on the Manhattan bandstand.(By EUGENE HOLLEY, JR all about jazz)