|
Tomatito.
‘Bajandí.’
Theater
de la Maestranza.
GENETICALLY
ENGINEERED TOMATITO
Tomatito—son and
grandson of Tomates—is brilliant, although he remains under an enormous
cloud: that of Paco
and Camarón (the
shadow of the "legend" is a long one). Tomate emits a serene and burning
style, ungrammified, and with "interchangeable friends" (La Macanita
and Potito were announced) just as valuable as those that lent a hand to the two
hours of music: Moraíto, Luis el Zambo, and Juana Amaya.
Charles Benavent
That was the end.
The first part will continue to be cloned until his overdue fourth CD is published.
He began by caressing the rondeña that he dedicates to the divine
thumb of Ramón Montoya. Then, a change of tuning, but not of recording
(‘Guitarra gitana’), with his salty alegrías. Tomatito seasoned
with confidence and composure in the red backdrop, blue for the mineras
(‘Cuesta la Cali’), followed by bulerías with four palmeros and
the mandolin of Carles Benavent
conversing in flamenco. There are no duets, but rather accompanists, like
Bernardo Parrilla in the Argentine tango that the guitarist Luis Salinas
composed for him (two in ‘Spain’), and whom he was up against in the last Bienal.
Montse Cortés
was in fine form por tangos—finishing with religious verse—, with Guadiana
providing counterpoint. They both have interesting recordings, released last year.
From green, Tomate turns red for blazing bulerías, scorched with José,
varnished with jazz effects, and orange for the rumba, dressed with New
World spice, and echoing ‘Armonías del Romañe’ with violin (Bernardo,
the Jerry Goodman of flamenco) and electric bass (Carles, an ever-expanded universe
apart).
Soleá
por bulerías to open the second part with Montse and Guadiana, channeled
towards the flexible yet restrained dance of Joselito Fernández (brother
of Paco and Esperanza Fernández, son of Curro Fernández) and the
improvising temperament of Juana Amaya, her stereophonic footwork, vertebrated
curves and textbook desplantes.
On this occasion,
Jerez por bulerías, and cortas. With his voice like an echo
in a Jerez distillery, Luis el Zambo is enjoying a sweet moment. Moraíto
brought him from ‘Al compás de los Zambo.’ After Joselito and Juana Amaya
danced—with tremendous attitude to spare, the latter—he sang without stopping,
entering whenever he wanted to, and dragging off the two guitarists, who still
had time to squeeze wonders into the accelerated rhythm. That’s why they’re who
they are, and Tomate does what he does.
Luis
Clemente
Translated by Norman Paul Kliman
|
