Tomatito and Michel Camilo premiere the
flamenco jazz album ‘Spain Again’ in Madrid

Silvia Calado. Madrid, May 17th, 2006

‘Spain Again’. Tomatito: guitar. Michel Camilo: piano. Sala Galileo Galilei. Madrid (Spain), May 17th, 2006. 9:30 p.m.

‘Spain’ again. The magic returns of the album joining the strings of Tomatito’s guitar and those of Michel Camilo’s piano. The duo came to the heart of Spain to premiere the second installment of their musical project: ‘Spain Again’. The event, which was held at Sala Galileo Galilei on the night of May 17th, 2006 before a jam-packed crowd of guests, was presented by Fernando Trueba, one of the instigators of this now fruitful encounter. The Spanish filmmaker recalled what the early stages of the adventure were like, when “first one would play, then the other would play and at the end they’d do three songs together. And those three songs people liked so much ended up sealing complete mutual understanding between guitar and piano”. As proof of the project’s soundness, in an extremely brief ceremony – since the important thing was for the music to start – the double platinum record was awarded to the artists for the one hundred seventy thousand records sold all over the world of the first ‘Spain’. “A real exploit for a flamenco and jazz album”, as was pointed out by the man in charge of jazz at the record company.

Michel Camilo and Tomatito
(Foto: Daniel Muñoz)

Down to the music! Tomatito and Michel Camilo plunge into the essence of this second album together: Astor Piazzola. To get down to work, they choose ‘El día que me quieres’. A landscape piece with which they test the perfect harmony of their instruments. The delicate, the musical, the cleanness. And with ‘Libertango’ (see live online video), another word starts to take over: momentum. The Almería-born guitarist and the Dominican pianist attacked the tremendous composition fiercely. They punished – in the good sense of the word – the sensitivity of the audience, who didn’t falter an inch in their devotion thereafter. Intensity, care, feeling. The applause was felt beyond... ‘Spain’. By the Argentinean composer, they afterwards chose ‘Adiós Nonino’, which as Camilo explained, “is the song which gives ‘Spain Again’ its raison d’être, since it has a bit of everything: nostalgia, melancholy, intensity...”. He himself described what happened between the musicians in the following minutes. To which should be added, as far as flamenco is concerned, Tomatito’s ease with this repertoire, which he tested for the first time live at the past edition of Seville’s Bienal de Flamenco. There’s an abyss between that concert and this one.

And from Buenos Aires to New Orleans. Another fundamental part of this album is the jazz banners, among them, ‘Twilight glow’. That less is more was made obvious. The performers’ regards seemed to forge a common tie between the scarce notes, between the minimum chords. And the beauty was felt while the sounds faded away by themselves in the air. Finally, flamenco. Tomatito covers the strings... Bulerías. It’s party time. Nothing’s held back. Michel Camilo rolls over the keys, skipping, vibrating. He on the guitar doesn’t stay behind. Feeling which covers an ocean. The crowd bounces in their seats. There’s total complicity between musicians and musician, and between musicians and audience. The request for an encore isn’t long in coming. And they come back, dedicating to their mentor, Fernando Trueba, an immense ‘Spain’, a country of music which grows and grows, again and again.

Michel Camilo (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Tomatito (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

magazine@flamenco-world.com