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Jazz

Chano Dominguez: Flamenco Sketches

Flamenco Sketches
Chano Dominguez: Flamenco Sketches
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In this re-imagining of a jazz classic, the Barcelona-based pianist puts his stamp on Miles Davis’ 1959 landmark, Kind of Blue. While the Cadiz native has the fiery essence of flamenco encoded in his DNA, he also has the spirit of jazz deep in his soul, as evidenced by his nonchalant quoting from Sonny Rollins’ “St. Thomas” in the middle of a burning solo on the title track. Fluent in jazz and flamenco, he blends both idioms in unpredictable and organic ways on this fascinating live outing. The cultural fusion is most exhilarating when cajon and palmas merge with Dominguez’s driving piano and Mario Rossy’s deep-grooving tumbao bass, as on the percolating 16-minute “Flamenco Sketches,” a macho rendition of “Freddie Freeloader” embroidered with flamenco dancer Tomas Moreno’s incisive heel work, and a reharmonized “So What” underscored by a percussive web of heel stomps, handclaps, and cajon slaps. Blas Cordoba provides impassioned, raspy vocals on the forlorn “Blue in Green,” singing lyrics from the Spanish poem “Cancio 51,” while “All Blues” swings jauntily with flamenco flavoring on top. Two Miles tunes not originally on Kind of Blue—“Nardis” and “Serpent’s Tooth”—get the same cross- cultural treatment with equally stunning results. 

By Bill Milkowski

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