Ottmar Liebert

Based in New Mexico, German guitarist Ottmar Liebert (February 1, 1959) has won international acclaim for a musical style that blends Spanish, Mexican, and world music elements in vigorous melodies with a touch of sorrow that has made him well received with new age audiences. Out of 33 recordings, he has had 21 releases on Billboard's New Age Albums Chart with 21 in the Top 20 and four that went to Number 1. With his band Luna Negra and on his own he has performed more than two thousand concerts around the world. The recording that launched his international career, Nouveau Flamenco (1990), which he first recorded on an old analogue machine, went to Number 2 on the New Age Chart upon its release in a remastered version in 1990 and in 2000 with the title Nouveau Flamenco: 1990-2000 Tenth Anniversary it went to Number 1. A musician from a young age, he travelled extensively as a young man and while performing with other musicians in Asia he decided to embark on a solo career. He moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he drew on cross-border influences and established Luna Negra, with whom he has made several albums. Borrasca (1991) topped the New Age Chart and earned a Grammy Award nomination, Solo Para Ti (1992) with Luna Negra and featuring Carlos Santana topped the chart, as did The Hours Between Night + Day (1993), which also picked up a Grammy nomination. Opium (1996) peaked at Number 4 and nabbed a further Grammy nomination while his recording Leaning Into the Night (1997) topped Billboard's Classical Albums Chart and received gold certification. Further Grammy nods came for his solo guitar album One Guitar (2006) and The Scent of Light (2008), which was nominated for the Grammys in the Best New Age Album category. His 2015 release Waiting N Swan reflected his taste for tango and reggae. Towards the end of the decade, Liebert dropped the albums Slow (2016), The Complete Santa Fe Sessions (2018), and the more upbeat Fete (2020), Liebert’s thirtieth full-length.