2005 Caja Madrid Festival kicks off with a combination of classical cante and jazz flamenco. The thirteenth edition of the Madrid-based festival makes a clean break with the usual line of its program, based on the classical scheme of a series of performances. Even so, there was some of that in the first part, split up between José de la Tomasa and José Menese. The former, accompanied on guitar by Manolo Franco, warmed up with a caña dedicated to Rafael Romero, “aires de Cádiz” and a soleá, not taking the cante in hand until the seguiriya. José Menese was showered with cheers as he came out on stage. Watched over by Enrique de Melchor, he offered a more than proper performance, consisting of those little-faded cantes he so carefully looks after: tientos, caracoles... the great petenera. The soleá and seguiriya rounded off a masterful performance. A change of gears. The second part - despite part of the crowd - stressed a different kind of flamenco, one which flirts with the ways of jazz and latin sounds. Chano Domínguez presented the new album ‘Oye cómo viene’ at the Albéniz Theater, accompanied by Tomasito on baile and clapping, Blas Córdoba on cante, Marc Miralta on drums and Mario Rossy on contrabass. Following dozens of performances on stages halfway around the world, the band offers a flawless, fun, rhythmic, communicative concert. Alegrías, tangos, rumbas and bulerías cement a repertoire to which each musician contributes rich nuances, different readings, with the strokes of genius by Tomasito standing out, judging by the outbursts of the audience.

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