From the first note to the percussive slap and strum, Javier Gutierrez's guitar compositions evoke images of Spanish countryside and the plaintive Moorish narratives of flamenco music. Melodic lead lines suspend themselves upon a canopy of bittersweet chord progressions, taking turns with staccato arpeggios and the irresistible rhythms of the signature flamenco strum, the rasgueado. And, while what Gutierrez does best is to follow the musical curves and turns of his gypsy muse, he does so with all the authenticity of an ageless soul in a modern time.