DePedro

Known best to Western music fans as Calexico's touring guitarist, Spanish recording artist Jairo Zavala calls his first solo project DePedro because it sounds "kind of Mediterranean, kind of Spanish." (His previous bands include Amparanoia, Vacazul and Los Coronas.) While the disc was recorded in Tucson, AZ with Calexico, the tunes have a distinct flavour — a Spanish rock, bluesy, dusty Tex-Mex border vibe permeates the record — and DePedro earns credits for dynamic, original songwriting. Sung in Spanish, with some English, the tunes include doses of upbeat desert rock ("Te sigo Soñando"), funky slide guitars and catchy horn progressions ("Comanche," "Tomorrow"), but also the weepy violin and yearning, melodic lines of "Llorona" (the "weeping woman" of Spanish folklore). On DePedro, Zavala shows off the range and artistic vision that earned him a slot at CMJ 2008 and made the disc the first full-length release from the new Nat Geo Music imprint.