Gafencu.com Covers Roots of Flamenco
The living tradition of Flamenco arrives in Hong Kong with a world tour featuring two of the art form’s biggest proponents…
Review: The Roots of Flamenco World Tour 2017
When one thinks of Flamenco, the image that comes to mind is undoubtedly that of the female Flamenco dancer, stamping her heels into the floor with rapid movements as she sweeps across the floor in a bright, ruffled dress. But today, we learnt that the art of Flamenco consists of much more than just that, and there’s plenty about it to be completely bowled over by.
Based off the folkloric music traditions of Southern Spain, Flamenco covers not just a style of dance, but also encompasses cante (singing), toque (guitar playing) and even palmas (handclapping), amongst other traditions. All these and more were showcased tonight at the Gypsy Jazz Flamenco, as part of the Roots of Flamenco World Tour brought to the Esplanade Recital Studio by Admission Nation LLC. The Roots of Flamenco World Tour brought together some of Spain’s greatest Flamenco performers for a night of unbridled talent, and a real treat for audience members who were both diehard Flamenco fanatics, or complete newbies to Flamenco.
Flamenco and Jazz:
An interview with Chano Domínguez
Iug Mirti of Jazzespresso met Chano Dominguez during his recent Roots of Flamenco tour stop in Taiwan:
You started playing flamenco and then moved to jazz; do you think this somehow let your style become different and personal?
“My first instrument was a flamenco guitar and this was the first music I’ve ever heard as a child and that, therefore, has affected all the music I’m now playing on piano.
“I’ve always been fascinated by playing with the rhythms of my country, and by improvising. All of this made it possible, over the years, to develop a language starting from flamenco and improvised music.
“I believe that starting from the 1970’s and through the 1990’s a style was created not only by me, but also by other Spanish musicians, a style that record companies have named “flamenco jazz”, or “jazz flamenco”, that strongly affected all Spanish musicians that have been successful inside and outside our country. So I believe that yes, the fact of being born in Cadiz and having lived my childhood surrounded by flamenco world gave me special features, that probably other musicians from other countries don’t have, they probably have other features connected to the culture of their own country.”