"Códices" is a collection of études for acoustic guitar and improvised pieces on the 12-string guitar. Inspired by the spirit of modern Latin American guitar composers, Llinás pays homage through extensive use of shifting resonance, dissonance, rhythmic exuberance, and deliberate silence. The contrast between the written and improvised works serves as a conceptual gesture in the ongoing search for a sonic vocabulary.
The album was recorded in Santa Fé, NM by Grammy awarded engineer Marc Whitmore (Jon Batiste, T-Bone Burnett) and co-produced by Trey Gunn (King Crimson, Tu-Ner).
“Códices” is the latest album by Daniel Reyes Llinás comprising eight études on Spanish guitar and four improvisations on the 12-string. The pieces are quietly virtuosic with a scope that ranges across continents and eras. The music pays homage to the pantheon of Latin American composers who have written for guitar while also incorporating harmonies from contemporary jazz and such American and European composers as Feldman, Debussy and Stravinsky. Extended techniques appear as well with harplike harmonic arpeggios evoking windchimes, wide melodic leaps as if from birdsong, and driving ostinati that groove hard. One hears free-flowing ballads that turn questioning or flamenco fanfares that expand into ecstatic looping pull offs. A brilliant record that opens new vistas for both the listener and the classical guitarist. -Elliott Sharp
Daniel Reyes Llinás - Acoustic Guitar, 12-string Guitar
Produced by Trey Gunn & Daniel Reyes Llinás
Recorded by Marc Whitmore at Kitchen Sink Studios Santa Fé, NM
Edited by Jake Kelly
Mixed by Natán Idé Pizarro
Mastered by Amy Dragon
Daniel Reyes Llinás plays Tsiorba Guitars
Photo by Andres Gómez / Artwork by MediaSistas
Executive Producer Barbara Bach
This work was possible with the support of The Regional Arts Council RACC.