Cabo Verde’s smooth Flamenco/jazz conjures images of stylish dancers twirling and dipping on a warm night in an open-air Tijuana bar. The Asheville trio’s debut, Shade Grown, almost takes you to a moonlit beach somewhere south of the border with its mix of authentic Latin grooves, Afro-Cuban percussion and funky rhythms. But Cabo Verde’s is a sound that is far from fading into the background of a tequila-infused dancehall. Instead, guitarist Juan Benavides, drummer Robin Tolleson and bassist Jake Wolf take everything that is good about Flamenco music and expound on it, giving the traditional dance music enough breathing room to establish an identity all its own. With its intricate acoustic guitar arrangements, gyrating drums and ambient jazz digressions, Shade Grown doesn’t encourage a dancing frenzy as much as it inspires careful listening. And yet, the trio never take themselves too seriously, maintaining playfulness and threading a spicy undercurrent throughout. The album’s six tracks go by all too quickly, but luckily Shade has enough depth that you could listen to on repeat and still find something new each spin.

Cabo Verde - Shade Grown, on CD

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