Ninth Plectrum Podcast - The little tomato, Tomatito

Tomatito was discovered and mentored by the great Paco De Lucia and one can immediately sense Paco's influence in Tomatito's music although he has also evolved a style of his own. That's the tradmark of an artist. A real artist has influences but always develops a unique style. Sometimes I prefer Tomatito to Paco simply because Tomatito's music is rather more expressive than agressive (as expected from flamenco). In fact most of Tomatito's songs are rather romantic. I was lucky to see Tomatito play live some years ago at the Malta Jazz Festival. In Malta he was accompanied by the great pianist Michel Camilo with whom he has an album aptly named Spain. All I can say is that the duo left everyone in awe.

Believe me, I can listen to this guitarist for ever without ever getting bored!

Well as usual for more information about this artist please click on the image on the top left of this article.

Podcast description:

TRACK 1. Armonias del Romane. From the album BARRIO NEGRO (1991). This track is very representative of new flamenco as it tends to lean a bit towards jazz but not too much. I would say that this is the style that also reflects Paco de Lucia's influence on Tomatito. My favourite.

TRACK 2. Besame Mucho. From the album SPAIN (2000). When I listen to this one I feel like burning my guitar and never play it again in public! He plays this tune with such mastery and passion.

With Tomatito on this album one finds pianist Michel Camilo - a strange combination of guitar and piano but which works so well with these two musicans. Moreover, it is a studio album but the tracks are recorded live. This means that the instruments are not recorded seperately as is usually done in a studio recording but they are recorded in the same way as if it were a live recording, with all musicans playing together. This obviously enhances the playing quality, feel and interaction between musicans. I recommend this album - I believe it is a must for all music lovers. You don't need to be a jazz musican or a latin music lover to enjoy it.

TRACK 3. Two Much / Love Theme. From the album Spain. A very very romantic piece. It is taken from the soundtrack of the movie with the same name, ie, Two Much. I am not sure but it seems that the music was composed by Michel Camilo. Anyway, Tomatito's interpretation (remember he is accompanied by Michel Camilo on this one too) is more than excellent!

TRACK 4. Bir Omurluk Misafir. From the album Paseo de los Castanos (2001). The title of this track is in Turkish and from the little research I made, it seems that it is in fact a turkish tune, though to me it sounds so Spanish. In fact whenever I have friends listen to this track they tell me that it reminds them of the movie sound track from Zorro. It is again a very romantic tune played with great passion and mastery by this great guitarist.

Enjoy the music.




PLECTRUM