Web site address: http://www.flamencomio.carbonmade.com
Flamenco Mio, a contemporary flamenco group hailing from Kansas City, will be performing throughout southern Spain this September. Beau Bledsoe (guitar/oud and composition/arrangement), Mark Southerland (tenor saxophone and horn sculptures), and current Sevilla resident Melinda Hedgecorth (dancer and choreographer) have been developing this unique collaboration for the past 3 years.
Flamenco Mio, brainchild of Bledsoe, brings flamenco, jazz, and turkish influences to bear on this modern folk art. Beau's masterful arrangements of these classic songs are the frame work for this adventuresome project. It was also Bledsoe's idea to employ Southerland's "big tenor sound" to serve as a new voice in this ensemble, replacing the traditional singer.
Southerland brings both his improvisatory jazz and horn sculpting skills to this unique treatment of flamenco. Each piece is designed to give Mark room to improvise and explore new sounds. This sonic exploration has gone so far as to include wearable horn sculptures - proving to be a beautiful challenge for dancer/choreographer Melinda Hedgecorth.
Hedgecorth, formerly from Kansas City, moved to Spain over 7 years ago to both immerse herself in the culture and more thoroughly study flamenco. Melinda's dance and choreography bring an intense understanding of tradition to the floor, while still inviting contemporary and innovative movement. Hedgecorth and Bledsoe have developed a great rapport creating, setting, and performing these new pieces.
