Thirteenth Festival Flamenco Caja Madrid 2005 – Dorantes & Esperanza Fernández – Tomatito

OPPOSITES ATTRACT AT THE FRONTIER

Part 1: “Voz y Marfil”. Cante: Esperanza Fernández;
Piano: David Peña “Dorantes”; Bass: Manolo Nieto;
Percussion: Tete Peña.

Part 2: “Al mariyya”. Guitar: Tomatito; 2nd Guitar
and mandola: Juan José Suarez “Paquete”: Dance:
Juan de Juan; Percussion: Lucky Losada; Cante: María Ángeles
Fernández; Bass and cante: Diego Amador “Churri”;
Violin: Bernardo Parrilla.

Text: Manuel Moraga

From the epicenter of flamenco, Dorantes, Esperanza Fernández
and Tomatito constructed a wonderful polarity. On the one hand the
softness of the Seville people. On the other, the aggressive idiom
of the guitarist from Almería. The former two laid on the
flamenco to introduce us into suggestively poetic spaces. Tomatito
organized an excursion to the gates of sizzling jazz.

The sensitivity of David Peña ‘Dorantes’ fingers
caressed Esperanza’s voice at every step. The two artists
know each other well and work together even better. “La Fuente
Blanca” (a Javier Limón composition), was the starting-point
of the recital which was developed on two levels: the group work,
and Dorantes alone.

The soleá was the first profound moment of the night. Esperanza
has these cantes in the palm of her hand and David knows how to
create the right mood. But where Dorantes left no doubt about his
musical dimension was in the following piece. The notes of his piano
slid into the depths of his soul. Prodigious beauty and sensibility.
Once again with his two colleagues, he then offered a version of
“La Maza” (the Mercedes Sosa song popularized by Silvio
Rodríguez), with lovely flamenco touches.

Also noteworthy was the malagueña de la Peñaranda
and ‘abandolao’ cantes in a tandem with Dorantes and
Esperanza. An interesting idea, but it came across as a bit cold.
Quite the reverse in the bulerías ending (which came after
a splendid version of the “Baladilla de los Tres Ríos”),
in which the blend of piano and cante came together. United by the
Lebrija influence they share (Esperanza is from Triana with family
in Lebrija), the tandem managed the best moments of the recital,
and Manolo Nieto (a great bass-player and percussionist Tete Peña,
also of the family, were noteworthy as well.

Although the music is impeccable, the absence of guitar takes some
getting used to, especially in the dramatic moments for which flamenco
is famous. The guitar has an expressive force for flamenco that
the piano just doesn’t achieve.

The opposite extreme is Tomatito’s guitar. The man from Almería
has built himself a playing style based on nerve and masculinity.
He began tense with alegrías and taranta, then loosened up
with bulerías, full of stops, syncopations, counterpoint…and
strength. From there on everything was familiar territory for Tomatito.
With the audience in the palm of his hand, he went exploring other
areas, alternating his flamenco instincts with landscapes whose
markers tended to become confused with those of jazz. Rumba, tangos
and bulerías made up the rest of the concert, perfectly complemented
by his group, quite a professional bunch.

Juan
de Juan’s dancing was particularly noteworthy, electrifying
like Tomatito’s guitar, as were Diego Amador who sang and
played bass, and of course, the exquisitely profound violin of Bernardo
Parrilla. Lucky Losada, brilliant, as was Paquete’s guitar.
Somewhat off-putting however was the voice of María Ángeles
Fernández whose work is in good taste but whose vocal texture
seems strange for this type of music.

Opposing sensations for the closing night of the Thirteenth Caja
de Madrid Festival. From the soft sweetness of Dorantes and Esperanza,
to the excessively hard edges of Tomatito’s guitar. At both
extremes we were taken right to the frontier.

Fotos: Rafael Manjavacas