Martín Guijarro, June 2006

Tomatito and Michel Camilo make another album together. The second episode of their common musical project is entitled ‘Spain Again’ and reflects the maturity of an experience which puts together, more than latin jazz and flamenco, two entirely compatible ways of understanding music. Because if there’s something the Almería-born guitarist and the Dominican pianist coincide in, it’s in spirit. ‘Spain Again’ is an impetuous album. Both musicians perform with sureness, with confidence, without limits to expression, a repertoire which on this occasion falls on the side of Argentinean tango.

The core of the album is a tribute to Astor Piazzolla, by means of the performance on piano and flamenco guitar of the pieces ‘Libertango’, ‘Fuga y misterio’ and ‘Adiós Nonino’. The three pieces give the two musicians enough space to appear delicate and powerful, interior and extroverted. But before getting down to business, they perform a dreamy prelude based on ‘El día que me quieras’ by the also Argentinean Carlos Gardel.

The rest of the repertoire is split up between songs by Tomatito, songs by Michel Camilo and jazz standards. Included in the work by the Almería-born guitarist is ‘A los nietos’, a piece dedicated to Pat Metheny, a musician now tangential to flamenco due to his collaborations with artists such as Paco de Lucía and Enrique Morente. Also drawing on the flamenco side is the song ‘La tarde’... bulería airs with many other airs. The ability to dialogue is surprising. The Dominican pianist contributes the beautiful ‘Twilight glow’ and ‘From within’, a composition with no few melodic jazz, flamenco tango and Caribbean tumbao overtones.

As basic from jazz, but not so much jazz, they’ve chosen ‘La fiesta’ by Chick Corea, a song with feeling that intertwines with the duo’s first record. And also included was ‘Stella by starlight’, a classic by Ned Washington and Victor Jones, which has had versions by artists from Miles Davis to Ella Fitzgerald. And just like the prologue, the album has an epilogue, but done by a trio. They join singer and guitarist Juan Luis Guerra to do a new version of ‘Amor de conuco’, a song with flamenco history, since it was sung together with Ana Belén by Camarón himself on his mythical album, ‘Soy gitano’.

When this entire repertoire is listened to thoroughly, another key to the understanding between these musicians is revealed: the native ease with which both one and the other change styles. From jazz to flamenco, from flamenco to Argentinean tango... They nearly play at blurring not just the genres, but also the musicians themselves.

Contents

Flamenco x 2. Interview with Tomatito and Michel Camilo on ‘Spain Again’

Tomatito and Michel Camilo. Premiere in Madrid of ‘Spain Again’. Review, photos and online video